All Sorts of Beautiful
by Kaitsa
Summary: After rescuing Bella from her cliff-diving experiment, Jacob drives her home. They are hit by a romantic moment that will change their lives forever. Jacob x Bella. Rated M for lemons.
1. Chapter 1 Sort of Beautiful

**Summary: **

After rescuing Bella from her cliff-diving experiment, Jacob drives her home. They are hit by a romantic moment that will change their lives forever. Jacob x Bella. Rated M for lemons.

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><p><em>AN: The first chapter is the same as my one shot "Sort of Beautiful". If you already read that one, you can skip right to the second chapter of this story.<em>

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Sort of Beautiful<strong>

Jacob POV

I had almost lost her, my Bella.  
>No, not my Bella. But I wish she were, and she knows it.<p>

I was sunken deep into thoughts when I drove her home. Not about Victoria, I should have been thinking about Victoria, but all my thoughts evolved around Bella, once again. This girl who was sitting in the truck next to me, shivering in her wet clothes. I could warm her up so much better than this blanket does. But I wasn't in the mood to continue those fantasies. I was too upset.

How could she be so careless with her life, the thing that matters to me most?

I mean, I knew she was depressed. When she first came to my garage with that motorcycle, she was an empty shell. Dark circles under her eyes. Charlie had come to Billy asking for a father's advice; apparently she was having horrible nightmares every single night. He was getting desperate and thinking about sending her back to her mother.

Back then, yes, I would have understood a suicide attempt. She must have been close too, and maybe that was the whole idea behind her motorcycle.

But now? I'd like to believe that I was making her feel better again. We spent a lot of time together and I could see her eyes light up with every passing day. Even if she walked in looking absolutely horrible, after another bad night, I managed to make her smile and she'd return home with a cute blush on her cheeks.

My friends from my pack tease me with her of course, but somehow, I don't mind. Whenever they mention her name and add 'Jacob's girlfriend', I can't help but smile.

And I don't know, I guess I believed up until today that she was considering it. That she was starting to forget about that bloodsucker at last, and think about being my girl.

But I suppose that was teenage make-belief. She knew she could have me, I was sure of that, and still she decided to rather jump off that cliff, right in the arms of Victoria.

I have been so blind, believing that she was doing better. She wasn't better at all.

Maybe I was only seeing what I wanted to see.

That might explain why others don't see her the same way, they wonder why I like her in the first place. They call her a depressed mess. Any girl that can grieve so much over a lost boyfriend, doesn't have any self respect or identity. Some even dared to state that she's using me.

Obviously I punched all those guys in the face over and over again, until they stopped talking about her all together.

I know Bella in a way nobody else does. When she's around me, she's witty and cheerful, not a depressed mess. We have tons of fun. And she's not like other girls either. She doesn't care about clothes and make up, about proms and dates. She's real, as real as it gets.

At last, I reached her dark house and cut the engine so everything was silent.

She hadn't spoken a word since we left and I was wondering if she was mad at me for rescuing her. I wasn't sorry though.

I pulled her into a hug and felt her lean closer. She didn't seem mad, and she didn't plan on getting out of the car, the way she snuggled against me. Who would want to leave into the cold night, when you can have the blazing arms of a werewolf?

Then again, she did prefer cold bloodsuckers, so with her, you never know.

"Sorry", I spoke, not really sure if I was apologizing for the rescue, or for loving her too much, "I know you don't feel exactly the way I do, Bells. I swear I don't mind. I'm just so glad you're okay that I could sing – and that's something no one wants to hear." I laughed nervously.

Her breathing picked up and I wondered what it meant. Did I give too much information? I thought I had been clear in the past about how I saw her. Maybe she didn't want to hear it now.

And then I felt her shift a tiny bit. She didn't respond to my joke, didn't even laugh politely, but now she turned her head a little bit towards me. I felt her breath on my shoulder, her lips almost touched my skin. What on earth was she up to?

Before I could reach any conclusion, she suddenly stiffened and I let her go.

This was it, she would get out of the car now and the moment would be gone. The moment that was filled with possibility. At least, that is what I hoped. In the flash of that second, I felt like she would actually do it. Cross that bridge and choose me.

I closed my eyes and waited for the door to open, but no sound came.

Carefully, I looked sideways. She was staring out the front window, her arms across her chest like she always does when she's upset about the vampires.

Great. So she's been thinking about Edward again.

Sure I was hurt, it starts to sting more and more, with every time she gives me hope and then takes it away again.

But just like all the other times, I can't be annoyed with her, not when I see her like this. So I put my feelings aside and ask "Are you okay, Bella?"

She nodded and looked up at me with big apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jake, I wish I could…" she didn't finish her sentence and I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it.

"You don't have to say it," I said, and I took her hand in mine, the way we always had. I was letting her know it's okay. It's okay to take my affection whenever she needs it and then start dreaming about her vampire again.

"I do, I think it's time I'm being honest with you."

"Allright," I said, apprehensively.

"I've been hearing him. Edward. In my mind," she confessed while she looked at our hands in her lap.

I almost cringed when I heard his name. "He's been talking to me, whenever I'm being reckless. I see his image, as if he's right there. So the only way I can keep him close to me…"

"… is by doing stupid crazy stuff, like crashing a motorcycle and jumping off a cliff?" I finished her story.

She simply nodded, cheeks red in shame.

Hearing this pissed me off to no end. I was still in control, more than I had been a few months ago, but still my hands trembled.

"Are you mad at me?" she asked, in a soft voice.

"No, not at you. At him. For leaving you in this state. So that you would risk your life just to catch a glimpse of him."

"He didn't know," she tried to defend him again, but at this I started shaking more.

"That's bullshit, Bells!" She cringed at my tone, so I continued in a calmer voice "I didn't know what you were upto just now either. But did I let your drown? No! When you love somebody, you don't just assume they're gonna be fine. You look after them. You make sure they are okay."

I didn't realize what I had said until I was done. I told her I loved her. And I didn't even say it in a sweet way. I was such a douche. Listening to me rant at Edward and confess my love for her was probably the last thing she wanted to hear.

She slowly turned sideways and looked at me.

Now it was my turn to start blushing.

I expected her to tell me that she didn't see me this way, you know, the whole love-you-like-a-brother speech, I was ready for it.

"He didn't look after me, did he?"

I shook my head, and looked at her with worry.

"He left me." She said it as if she was finally getting the message. I was afraid she would break down any moment now, but instead, her grip on my hand got stronger.

"He left me and he didn't know I would be fine, and he sure as hell didn't make sure I was fine, because I really wasn't!"

She sounded angry now, and I had to admit that I liked it. Angry Bella was so much better than devastated Bella, and god knows that bloodsucker deserved it.

"And here I am," she continued while she started shivering again, "still thinking about not betraying him, when he did let me drown."

I didn't let my heart dwell on what she might mean, talking about betraying him. Maybe I didn't misread the signs earlier, maybe she was considering me after all?

This time she didn't wait for me to pull her closer. She was cold and crawled near me again, placing her cool cheek on my shoulder.

My arm was wrapped around her instinctively.

She muttered "I'm sorry," but I already forget what she was sorry about, when I felt her breath against my skin.

"Hmm?"

"You deserve so much better, Jake."

"I can't imagine anybody better than you," I said. I didn't care any longer about hiding my feelings. I already said I loved her and she was still here. So why bother holding back?

"All I've done the past year is talking and thinking about him, when you were here all along. You're the one who made me smile, you picked me up and brought me back to life, you're the one who saved me. In so many ways…"

I smiled, happy that she finally saw that much. Even if it didn't change a thing.

"It wasn't a bother at all, Bella. I love your company, you were easy to save. And you were here for me too, when things got rough this year, the wolf stuff and all. I can't imagine a better friend, so you have nothing to feel sorry for," I tried to comfort her.

And this time she did it.

There wasn't a warning, or a hesitation. She placed her lips on my shoulder and she kissed me.

Before I could wonder if this was a thank you kiss, she placed another one on my skin, a little higher.

This was too good to be true. I knew I had to aks her to stop. She had just gone through a near dead experience. I should carry her inside, let her sleep, and go hunt that Victoria.

But I was frozen in time and space, feeling her lips on my skin, going up to my neck.

Her breath came fast now, and so did mine. Was this really happening?

Instead of doing the rational thing, my arm around her pulled her closer, and my face lowered slowly.

I had dreamed about this for so long, everything else could wait. I wouldn't give her a chance to change her mind.

She looked up straight into my eyes and there was no trace of the pity I feared to see.

I saw nothing but love. And not the brotherly kind. I saw a girl, my girl, whose eyes had opened for the first time in months. Who saw me clearly and who knew what was right.

It would come naturally, it would be so easy, like breathing.

I smiled at her and she smiled back, nervously.

"You're sort of beautiful," I said, while I softly brushed the wet strands of hair from her face.

She chuckled and I saw that familiar twinkle in her eye, the one that made her come to life the past months.

And then she closed the distance. She kissed me and it was easy indeed.

I pulled her onto my lap and I swore to myself to never let her go again. No wolf or vampire would ever harm this girl, she was mine now.

When our tongues met, she wrapped her arms around my neck and I pulled her against my chest.

We kissed and kissed, making up for all the time we lost. We made out like only teenagers can. And it was clumsy, and feverish, but at the same time sweet and loving. Her wet clothes were uncomfortable and I was in fact too big to fit into the drivers seat with a girl on my lap, but we still didn't leave the truck. This moment was simply too perfect to break.

When finally our lips needed some rest, she laid her head on my shoulder.

And she whispered the words that I've been needing to hear for ages now.

I knew right there and then that she wouldn't change her mind. Even if he came back, he would be too late. I had taken my chance, and she felt it now. She knew it.

"I love you, Jake."

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><p><em>AN: This is the first story I wrote in three years, please let me know what you think!<em>


	2. Chapter 2 Visitor

_AN: This story will follow some of the events that happen in New Moon and Eclipse. But that kiss between Jacob and Bella will change everything._

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Visitor<strong>

Bella POV

After I finally told him how I felt, how I have felt for a while now without realizing, he held me close for the longest time. Afraid to let go.

Until he suddenly shifted in his chair, and released his grip around me to wipe the fogged up window. I looked up and saw him stare intently outside towards the street. When I followed his gaze, my eyes caught what he had seen and I recognized it immediately.

"What…" Jacob started, but before he could continue I replied "Carlisle's car."

"As in Carlisle Cullen, the bloodsucker?" he said incredulously. The tone of his voice made me flinch, but he didn't notice. He immediately shoved me off his lap and got out of the car.

"I smell them now," he said while I could see his body shake. He was about to phase on the spot if I didn't do something quickly.

I jumped out of the car and grabbed his arm. "It's okay, it's just Carlisle, let me find out what he wants."

"I'm not letting you enter the house when there's a vampire inside. It might be a trap."

He hadn't phased yet, which was kind of a victory, but he still shuddered violently.

"I'll be safe," I tried to convince him, "it's his car, I'm sure of it. Let me talk to him."

He finally took his eyes off the car and looked at me. He knew how stubborn I was, and reckless too. He knew I'd go in anyway, no matter what he said. I saw the hurt and the resignment on his face.

"You can come with me," I suggested, but he shook his head "a werewolf and a bloodsucker in the same room, that won't work."

"Okay, then wait here, I'll see what he wants."

He nodded reluctantly, and then added "I'm gonna have to inform the pack."

I knew those were alpha's orders so I didn't object.

In fact, I did't want to stay here and discuss the matter any further, I was dying to get inside and find out what was up. Maybe it wasn't fair to Jacob, after the moment we just shared, but I couldn't help it.

So I gave him one last look, ignored the hurt expression on his face, and almost sprinted for the door.

When I entered, I heard nothing, there was only silence and darkness. Just when I was about to get uneasy and ready to run towards Jacob again, the light was switched on and I was greeted by a very surprised vampire.

"What are you doing here!" Alice almost shrieked.

"I… I live here," I muttered, and then I ran towards her "Alice! Is that really you!?"

She caught me easily and held me almost with the same force I clung to her. I wanted to ask her so many questions, but instead, I started to sob against her stone chest.

"Hush, now," she soothed me, while she carried me towards the couch. I hadn't known just how much I missed her until now. She was really here.

After I finally calmed down, she held me at a distance to take a good look at me.

"You look horrible," she stated, disapprovingly. "But that's no surprise. Care to tell me how you are still alive?"

It took me a moment to realize what she meant, and then I said "you saw me fall."

She looked at me pointedly, "I saw you _jump_."

I averted my gaze, had no intention to confess all about my motivations for my reckless behavior. After all, they left, they gave up their right to keep me safe.

She continued, "I saw you jump, the current, you disappeared, I waited and I waited. Then I panicked and I took the first flight here. And now you simply walk in here?"

"Jacob saved me," I clarified.

I wasn't ready to tell her everything about my friendship with Jake, that was private too. But she didn't ask, she was deep into thought, probably wondering why she hadn't seen that part.

My temperature was slowly dropping again, being so near the cold vampire in my damp clothes.

"You should probably warm up," she noticed, "maybe a shower might be best, you kinda reek."

I already showered at Jake's place, but maybe I still smelled like dirty ocean water.

I quickly went upstairs and turned on the hot water while she waited on the couch, still in deep thought.

I glanced outside the bathroom window and saw that the truck had left. He was probably with his pack now.

During the shower, I started wondering what else she knew. She hadn't asked about Jacob, maybe she knew everything already.

That gave me a bad feeling, and I had no idea why. Maybe I didn't want her to know that there was someone new in my life? Or maybe I didn't want _him_ to know?

The thought of him, Edward, made me hot and cold inside, still.

Earlier, in the truck, I got a little angry at him, for not being here for me, but now, with Alice showing up here, that anger dissipated quickly. Clearly she still cared about me, maybe I had misunderstood their absence?

How could it be possible that the precise moment I tried to choose Jacob, Alice showes up. Was this a sign maybe?

Once I got back downstairs, hoping to smell better now, I immediately asked the question that was on my mind.

"Does he know you're here?"

"No, of course not, he'd rip my head off."

"And about your vision?" I didn't want him to see me jump. Didn't want him to know I missed him so bad I had actually thought about killing myself.

"No, he doesn't live with us anymore."

"Oh," I simply said. Thinking of him still filled me with hurt, so much that I wished I could still be angry at him.

She saw my grimace and said "I knew this would happen, I told him, but he wouldn't believe me. She'll be fine, he said, she's better off without us. And then you try to end your life."

I objected weakly, "I didn't try that. I just… wanted to jump, it looked like fun. I was surprised by the current."

She eyed me skeptically. "So you tried to reach the surface but you couldn't?"

I nodded. "And this guy, what's his name, he saved you?"

"Jacob. He jumped in and pulled me out. I couldn't have been under for more than a minute."

She thought for a while.

"I didn't see anyone up there with you," she said, as if she still didn't believe me.

"He was around, we were there together, he's sort of… my best friend, nowadays."

I didn't want to sound accusingly, as if he was only my friend because they had failed to be so.

"How was he able to fight the current?"

"Jacob is… strong."

"I knew it," she said, "I recognized that smell, that stench. He's a werewolf, isn't he?"

"Um…" I hestitated, this wasn't my secret to share, but my pause told her what she wanted to know.

"Your best friend is a werewolf?"

She didn't wait for my reply, and continued her rant. "You're a magnet for danger! Us vampires leave town for the sole purpose of keeping you safe and you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find."

I had no come back to that. I should have defended Jacob instantly, shout at her that he had kept me safe so much better than they ever had, but all I heard was that they left for my safety alone.

"He told me he left cause he didn't want me anymore," I murmured.

"Oh, Bella!" Alice sighed, "if only you knew."

She held me and I all I could think was 'knew what?'.

Before I could get to that, she asked "how long have you been friends with this werewolf?"

"Well, I've known him all my life, but he's just recently turned into a werewolf."

"A young werewolf? Even worse!" she almost shouted.

"He's no danger to me," I finally defended him. "He's been nothing but good to me…" I added in a softer tone. She noticed my heart speeding up and looked at me curiously.

"How good?"

I didn't answer, I looked away from her, my eyes intently on the table in front of us. I have no idea why I don't want her to know. Maybe I was afraid she would tell Edward and then I'd lose my last chance of him ever coming back.

Wait, hadn't I just chosen Jacob?

I didn't know anymore. I just wanted to sleep.

"Are you two…" she wasn't going to let go.

"I don't know," I answered. "There might be something there, it's still early. I think he's loved me for a while. He sort of picked me up when I was… well, depressed. He made me happier again. I haven't really figured out how I feel."

"How bad were you?" she asked carefully.

I was reluctant to share but she already knew: "it was horrible, wasn't it? I knew it, I told him…" she shook her head and held me again.

Suddenly the doorbell rang and she was surprised once again.

Something dawned on her and she muttered "I can't see him, that's why I didn't see the rescue. Are you sure you're safe with him?"

She started to get up.

"No, Alice, don't go, please, don't leave again!" I almost shouted desperately.

"I'll stay in touch, Bella, I promise, I won't disappear off the face of the earth again, but right now, I think it's best if I'm not around when your young wolf steps in."

"He's not my…" I tried to object, but she was out the back door already.

I didn't know whether to be happy Jacob was back, or sad that Alice had left.

Both feelings filled me with guilt, the first towards Edward and the second towards Jacob.

I had just made my life so much more complicated, and I was in deep trouble here.

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><p><em>AN: I'm so curious, please let me know what you think, all your thoughts and ideas are welcome. <em>


	3. Chapter 3 Funeral

**Chapter 3: Funeral**

JPOV

I was aware that the bloodsucker's car was still parked outside on the street. But I wasn't going to wait any longer.

I had stayed in the truck for half an hour and she didn't take the time to let me know she was fine. I had walked near the house only to see her sitting in the arms of the pixie one.

I was relieved that Edward wasn't here and she seemed to be safe so I informed the pack that Bella had a visitor. With the Cullens back, even if just for a short while, we couldn't protect Bella from Victoria in her house.

She'd only be safe in LaPush, and I was going to let her know that.

I rang the door and I heard voices inside. Bella almost yelled something, and then finally she opened the door. Alone.

She looked freshly showered, but she smelled worse than before. The whole house reeked and I scrunched up my nose.

She stepped aside to let me enter, but didn't look too pleased to see me.

The whole drive up here I had imagined a romantic reunion. I knew I'd only been gone for two hours, but I had missed her so much. I was terrified that this vampire returning would ruin the love we just found.

And seeing her here, in front of me, unwilling to look at me, almost confirmed my fears.

The stench was too much for me in the living room, but I managed to drag my quivering form into the kitchen without phasing on the spot.

Bella followed me and when I turned around to look at her, I saw her quickly wipe a tear from her cheek.

I was with her in an instant, "Bella, are you okay? What did she say?"

"No it's nothing," she tried to smile weakly.

"Then why are you crying?" I took another step closer, not sure how to act around her now.

I decided to take the friend role that was so familiar to us now.

"I just didn't realize how much I missed her until I saw her just now," she admitted and she looked at me worried to see if her confession would hurt.

Missing Alice is not a problem to me. The other one however.

"Is she coming back?" I asked carefully.

"I don't know, she said she'd be in touch."

"And the rest?"

She knew who I meant, because she looked down, "no, he's not coming back, he's not even with the Cullens anymore. Before I could feel relief, she added "apparently he's still enjoying his distractions."

She furiously wiped another tear from her cheek and started rummaging through the fridge, looking for a can of soda.

I knew she was only trying to hide her face from me, but I read her feelings anyway. She's still missing him, she's disappointed that he's not coming back, him leaving her still breaks her just the way it always had and our moment in the truck didn't change that.

I was hurt more by this than I was ready to admit. I had dealt with her love for him from the start, but now things were different. It felt like I had tasted something, experienced what it was like to call her mine, and then had to give her back again to the great and absent love of her life.

I found it more difficult now to comfort her the way I always had, but eventually, I did it again. Moved my feelings aside and walked over to her and held her.

She put the can down and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I sighed into her stinking hair.

"This is all such a mess," she muttered, and I knew she referred to our kiss and the bad timing of it.

It didn't encourage me to kiss her again, but her presence did.

We were alone, I was holding her near me, I felt her small hands on my back, and before I was aware of it, I had cupped her chin in my palm.

She looked up at me, and I searched her eyes for traces of the love she had for me. They were still there, underneath the fresh pain.

I wanted more of that. I lowered my face and she leaned into me. Our lips touched and relief washed over me. Was she still mine, despite everything else?

I opened my lips a tiny bit, waiting for her to reciprocate, but then we were interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.

"Bella?" Charlie called and she immediately broke the kiss and stepped away from me.

I knew Charlie would approve if we were together, he's been encouraging me for a while now, telling me that she'll get over the other one. I wanted to wrap my arm around Bella's shoulder, but she took another step sideways, and I got the hint.

When Charlie entered the kitched, she was uneasy for a bit, but then ran towards him and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry, dad." With shame I realized I had almost forgotten about Harry passing away.

The sherrif looked exhausted, and she pulled out a chair for him to sit at the kitchen table. Like a mother hen she hovered around him, taking his coat and opening a can of beer. She offered to make some dinner and started taking stuff out of the fridge that she could use.

It was clear that the distraction was welcome and she forgot about the mess she was in. As she called it.

Charlie asked me to stay for dinner, and together we talked about Sue, and poor Leah and Seth.

I really did feel sorry for them. Especially for Leah, who was still suffering from her broken heart. I knew we couldn't comfort her though.

As I was talking to Charlie, I had an idea that would keep Bella safe without her knowing. I asked them both over to stay in our house tonight. Late at night, there would be a wake, where all the family and friends would carry torches towards Harry's house, and tomorrow morning the funeral would take place. Charlie could stay in my sister's room that was now empty, and Bella could have my room. I assured him that it was no trouble at all, and I was very pleased with myself when he agreed.

After dinner, I offered to do the dishes, when they packed their bags. They locked up the house and I was happy to see that the bloodsucker's car was gone.

I drove them to LaPush in my truck, Bella squeezed between us in the middle of the front seat. I wasn't going to complain, I enjoyed to feel her body against my skin, and sighed happily when I felt her lean her head on my shoulder.

What a day it had been for her.

When we got home, I insisted that she would skip the wake and go to sleep immediately. I took everything out of my room that I might need tonight and tomorrow morning, and guided her upstairs.

She knew her way, we spent many hours on my bed talking and joking, but somehow, the atmosphere felt more tense now. I wasn't sure whether I could kiss her goodnight, so I stayed by the door, a little uneasy.

She took her pj's from her bag and turned around to me, laughing. "Are you gonna stand there and watch while I change?"

"No," I quickly backed up, cheeks red, "of course not. Goodnight," I practically ran to the hallway.

"Jake?" she called.

"Yes?" I replied without turning around, afraid I might see something I wasn't supposed to see.

"Will you come back in ten to tuck me in?"

I smiled "of course," and went downstairs again.

It was hard to wipe the goofy smile off my face, but luckily everybody was too occupied to notice. Billy and Charlie were going over the details of the funeral and getting ready to leave early for the wake.

I put my blankets on the couch where I would crash tonight and counted the minutes before I would go upstairs again. Just to be sure, I took fifteen minutes, and then knocked on the door.

She was already in my bed, under the covers, looking so tired she was probably trying her hardest to stay awake.

I sat down next to her.

"What a day huh?"

She smiled at me apologetically, "I'm sorry about this whole cliff-diving thing. It was so stupid, and such bad timing."

"It's okay," I said, placing my hand on her cheek, "we all have our own issues, but you're not alone."

"I know," she nodded. Her eyelids were dropping slowly, and opening again now and then. It was clear that she was too tired to talk.

I gathered my confidence and asked softly "can I kiss you goodnight?"

The sweetest smile appeared on her face and that was all the encouragement I needed.

I lowered myself over her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Her hand went around my neck, pulling me closer to her when she deepened the kiss slowly.

All too soon, it was over again, and I sat up.

"Night, Bells," I whispered, but she was asleep already. I stood up and closed the door quietly.

I decided to skip the wake as well. I'd stay here to make sure she was safe. If it was up to me, I'd never leave her side again.

It took me a long time to fall asleep on the couch that was actually too small for my wolf body, but I must have managed after a while, cause I didn't hear Charlie and Billy return and in the morning I was woken by sounds coming from the kitchen. Billy was preparing breakfast and Charlie was trying to lend a hand but it was clear that he wasn't a great help.

I didn't see Bella so I went upstairs and tapped on the door softly.

She didn't reply and when I entered the room, I found her sleeping still. She was no longer under my covers. She was on her back, one hand underneath my pillow and the other hand dangling off the side of my bed.

She looked so perfect and innocent, sleeping like that. And sexy too, I noticed when I saw her body through her thin tank top.

I quickly stepped closer to cover her again before I brushed her messy hair away from her face.

She lazily opened her eyes and as soon as she recognized me, she lifted herself onto her elbows, looking a little bewildered. She started adjustig her hair, and I laughed "leave it, you look cute."

She groaned something, and then said in a hoarse voice "what time is it?"

"Seven. We're leaving in about an hour. Our dads are making breakfast. How are you feeling?"

She sat up straight now, pulled her knees up and yawned. "A little sore, but okay, I guess."

"Will you be able to join us?" I asked worriedly. I didn't want to leave her here alone, but I also couldn't miss the funeral.

"Of course, I just need fifteen minutes to get cleaned up, and I'll be ready."

I leaned over to her for a kiss, but she pulled away.

"I haven't brushed my teeth," she said, and I laughed "if I kissed you yesterday with that bloodsucker smell, I'm pretty sure I can handle morning breath."

It was meant as a joke, but I could tell that the memory of Alice, and my poor word choice, were not welcome.

She quickly got up, grabbed her bag, and hurried past me into the bathroom.

I sighed, and got downstairs where I was greeted by the smell of baked eggs.

The blankets were already removed from the couch and when Bella came downstairs, her bag was packed.

I wished I could keep her here forever, I could get used to her presence, but I knew she'd go home again after the funeral.

She stayed at a fair distance from me, as if to let me know she wasn't going to allow any kissing in the sight of her dad, and I understood. She wasn't ready to go public.

At the funeral however, she forgot about distance again, and took my hand, just like we always had.

Everybody was so used to us holding hands, nobody found it strange.

I managed to keep strong by not looking at Leah and Seth, and promised to make it up to them by going by their house regularly the next weeks. After all, I knew what it was like to lose a parent. The worst part was yet to come.

I drove Charlie and Bella back in silence, only to find a surprise on their driveway.

This time it wasn't the doctor's car, but it was an all too familiar silver Volvo.

* * *

><p>AN: Guess who's back in town...<p> 


	4. Chapter 4 Promises

**Chapter 4: Promises**

BPOV

I was resting my head against Jacob's shoulder and enjoying the purr of the truck and the warmth of his skin.

I was glad that I had been able to help him for a change. He was having a hard time at the funeral, and I could feel by the way he squeezed my hand that he was pulling strength from my presence. Maybe this was right after all.

It wasn't until I was woken by my dad's voice that I opened my eyes.

"What is _he_ doing here?" he muttered, and his tone told me we had an unwelcome guest.

My eyes adjusted to the light, and then I noticed his car on our driveway. At least Alice had parked the car further along in the street, but he just put his car right here, as if it belonged there.

My heart almost stopped, and I'm sure Jacob noticed, cause he shifted a tiny bit away from me in his truck. His fingers gripped around the steering wheel, paling his knuckles. I was afraid he's break the car, but I was too shaked up by this new event to do something about it.

Jacob parked his car in front of the house but didn't turn off the engine.

"Aren't you coming in," Charlie asked, "it's not because we have a visitor that you're not welcome." He made it clear which one of both he preferred.

"No, thank you, Charlie, I should be going back to my dad," Jacob managed to control his voice.

Charlie got out of the car and held the door open for me to follow.

I looked at Jacob, but he stared out of the window, refusing to look back. I wasn't going to linger, after all, it was not my fault that Edward's car suddenly appeared here. Hadn't I shown today that I was going to be there for him?

"I'm sorry," I whispered reluctantly, still a little annoyed with his behavior.

He looked at me, and the hurt and fear on his face melted my irritation away. I placed my hand on his arm, and tried to smile.

I didn't kiss him though. Maybe I should have kissed him, but I wasn't ready for Charlie to know. And I probably wasn't ready for _him_ to know either, I thought, but then I pushed that idea away. Even if it was true, it wasn't fair.

Jacob placed his warm hand over mine, and said with a sigh "go on."

"See you tomorrow?" I asked, and he nodded.

He looked like he wanted to add something, but then he turned around towards the street again and I got out.

Before we reached the driveway, the truck drove off with a roaring engine.

Dad muttered something about how inpolite it was to show up unannounced, but the troubled look on his face showed me that it was mostly me he was concerned about. He'd witnessed me fall apart the past year. And now I was finally finding myself again, and _he_ shows up. I understood his worry. It was mine as well.

The door of the Volvo swung open and Edward stepped out of it, with even more grace than I remembered. I seemed to see him in slow motion, first his shoes, his jeans, and then all the way up to his face. He hadn't aged a day, and I hadn't expected him to. His hair was still a mess of bronze strands, his skin pale and eyes golden. I was almost frozen in place, not sure how to react.

Charlie spoke first.

"Hello, Edward," he said without passion in his voice, and he walked passed him towards the house.

"Good afternoon, Charlie," Edward replied politely in his sweetest velvety voice, "I'm sorry to drop by so unexpectedly. I apologize if it is inconvenient to you. I was in the neighbourhood and wanted to have a word with Bella."

Charlie sighed, not hiding his disapproval, and said "come on in, then", before he entered the house and went to the kitchen, giving us kids time some alone.

I wasn't sure what Edward's intentions were. Maybe Alice had told him about the cliff diving. Or about the depression. Or even worse, maybe she told him about my werewolf almost boyfriend.

I knew he'd disapprove, he was always so obsessed with keeping me safe. He made me promise not to be reckless.

But that was the whole point, wasn't it? Acting reckless to feel him closer. And now he was close, my reckless behavior made him come back.

I sat down on the couch and Edward chose another one, all the while watching me intently. I was aware of how I looked, I was sore, had bruises, and probably big bags under my eyes. He still looked as perfect as ever.

I tried to steady my fluttering heart, calling myself pathetic. I was sure that he could hear it loud and clear.

"Don't worry," he said, "I'm not here to preach at you for your broken promise."

"You broke yours as well," I stated matter-of-factly, remembering how he promised me he'd stay out of my life.

"True," he replied slowly, "I was wrong about many things. I thought you'd be safe…" he trailed off.

"Well, as you can see, I'm alive and well, so you mustn't worry," I defended myself.

I wasn't going to let him assume I needed his protection. I had a wolf pack saving me just fine.

"Hardly," he muttered.

"Did Alice tell you about the vision?" I guessed.

"No, Rosalie did," he whispered, and he looked at the kitchen where I was sure Charlie was listening in on us.

Then he added in a whisper, "can I come back later, so we can talk?"

I knew what he meant, he wanted to sneak into my room at night. I thought for a second and then nodded.

Edward seemed relieved and he continued in his normal voice "I'm glad you're okay, Bella."

He stood up and went for the door again. "Goodbye, Charlie!"

I wondered what he wanted to talk about, if he hadn't just shown up to make sure I was okay.

After he left, I went upstairs to shower. I scrubbed to get the wolf scent off my skin, remembering how bad it had smelled to Alice, and then I scolded myself for doing so. Why was I trying to smell good for Edward? It was pathetic.

I left my window open and went to sleep, just to be woken up a little past midnight by a light tap on the glass.

"Did you know there's a werewolf patroling your house?" he asked, without greeting me first.

I pulled the cover over my body and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. He saw that I was cold and closed the window before he sat down on the edge of my bed, just like he had many times before last year.

"A werewolf?" I asked in a haze. I thought Jacob told me he couldn't protect me here, but it would be so like him to make sure I was fine anyway.

"I had to convince him I was here on invitation by showing him your open window."

I flinched at this, knowing that Jacob might interpret this invitation differently.

I got up to look out the window, but saw nothing but darkness. Then I remembered I was in my pj's and hurriedly hid under the covers again.

One look into Edwards smoldering eyes made my heart jump again, and I quickly started to talk.

"What did Rosalie tell you?"

"She called me up and said that Alice saw you die," he stated with a pained expression on his face.

"I called the house but nobody answered. Then I took the first plane here. By the time I got here, there was nobody home. I called Alice, and she told me this story about how she was wrong and you were still alive. I didn't believe her, so I stayed around. You didn't return all night. I called her back for more details and she told me about a conversation she had. She said you were friends with a werewolf now," the look on his face showed me that he didn't approve of this at all, which actually pleased me.

"She wanted to go talk to him, Jason is his name?"

"Jacob," I corrected him. I knew his perfect memory hadn't forgotten the name. He was acting as if he didn't care.

"Yes, Jacob," he said. "That night you didn't return, she followed you to the rez..."

I couldn't believe they had been following me again, my annoyance at their ways grew again.

"She talked to him?" I asked incredulously. Jacob hadn't told me.

"No, she didn't get there. She was caught by another wolf who chased her off their territory again. She questioned him and he assured her that you were safe with the wolves. And he didn't fail to mention that they saved you before, from Laurent and Victoria."

"Oh," was all I could utter.

"So I was wrong, I thought we were the worst threat to you, that you would be safe without us."

"I'm a danger magnet," I said apologetically.

"Yes. Yes you are."

He looked at me affectionately, and again my heart fluttered in my chest. He scooched a little closer to me.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," he said in an intense voice. My eyes were locked with his.

"I was so wrong, I've never been so wrong before, but I'll make it all up to you. I missed you so bad…"

I didn't respond.

This was probably the right time to tell him about this wolf patroling my house. Who was now more than just a friend.

But I failed. I was frozen.

"I'll keep you safe now," he continued in his hypnotizing voice, "I won't leave again."

He started to lean closer to me and just when his lips almost reached mine, the spell broke and I averted my face.

He looked hurt but quickly regained his pose.

"I understand. I hurt you. It's okay, Bella, take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere, I'll stay with you and that is a promise I won't break."

And again, I didn't tell him.

I wanted him to stay, that is why. And I hated myself for being so weak.

He read my silence as hesitance and said "go to sleep now. I'll be back. Promise."

He placed a cool kiss on my forehead and disappeared out of the window. Leaving me utterly confused.

* * *

><p>AN: Poor Bella, such bad timing. Are there any team Edward readers, or do you all cheer for Jacob?<p> 


	5. Chapter 5 Nobody

**Chapter 5: Nobody**

JPOV

I couldn't believe he had the audacity to show up here the way he did, and act like he could still claim her. He climbed in and out of her room as if he belonged there. The confidence he showed made me turn ice cold.

I knew he was a mind reader, so when he stepped towards me again after his short visit, I recalled a certain memory I found in Sam's mind. Bella lying on the floor in the forest where Edward left her to die.

It had the desired effect because he flinched and I finally saw some shame on his face.

His tone sounded less arrogant than it did before his visit, as he said "you can go home now, I'll take it from here."

I replied to him in my wolf mind "that is very generous of you, bloodsucker, but you failed to keep her safe before, so I'm not going to take any chance."

"Fine," he said, before running off into the forest.

I didn't like what he implied when he said he'd take it from here. Was he going to stay then? And what exactly made him so confident when he came from her room?

I knew he hadn't stayed for long, but I also knew how Bella felt about him. Probably still feels.

I don't have the illusion that our kiss changed that so quickly. She's not one to change her mind easily; stubborn and extremely dedicated. Those were qualities that I admired in her, but that worried me now.

"Could you please stop brooding," an annoyed voice said in my mind, "I'm trying to zone out here and you just won't stop."

"I'm sorry, Leah," I thought immediately. I had been unaware of her presence.

"I get it," the whisper replied, "he's back and it sucks. It sucks big time, but there's nothing we can do about it, he's not on our property."

"I know, I'm sorry," I apologized again, "I'll phase back and leave you alone."

"Thanks." She sounded faint and exhausted.

I hesitated. "Unless you like me to stay?" I added, hoping she would decline.

"No, I want to be alone. Tell you something: why don't you go to sleep and I'll patrol her house."

"You don't have to do that." I knew she had never liked Bella.

"It's not about Bella," she replied to my other thoughts as well, "I just want to get away from here. And don't worry, she'll be safe. That Victoria would actually do me a favor if she showed up, cause I'm in the mood to rip apart some vampires."

"If you're sure…" I agreed. I could use the sleep; that night on the couch hasn't been sufficient.

I phased back, pulled on my shorts and waited for her to arrive.

When she took my post, I drove home and fell alseep like a lump on the bed.

The next morning I kept myself from driving back to Bella's house. She had told me she'd see me today. If she still wanted to after her bedroom visit, she'd have to come find me.

I tried to keep busy, and distracted. I even cleaned up the house.

And then at last, I heard the engine of her old truck.

Instead of walking in like she had all year, she knocked on the door and waited for me to open it.

I hesitated on how to greet her. I didn't know where we were, what we were.

She walked past me and looked around. "Where's Billy?"

"He's at Sue's, helping out."

Then she turned and looked at me "are you mad at me?"

"No," I said. I tried to keep myself from getting suspicious. Why would I be mad?

She looked relieved with my reply and without waiting for me, she went upstairs to my room. I smiled because clearly she felt at home still.

We both sat down on my bed. As usual she pulled up her knees, wrapping her arms around them.

She started talking, "I know Edward told you I invited him in my room. It must have seemed like… I don't kow what it seemed like."

"Like you wanted to talk to him without Charlie overhearing the conversation?"

"Yeah…" she said.

"Is that all you did: talk?" I had a lot of questions and for some of them I wasn't sure whether I wanted to hear the answer.

"Yes, a little. He didn't stay long. So you spoke to him without phasing?"

"No. I was wolf already. He's a mind reader, remember."

"Oh, right, but you didn't attack him, so that's good."

I didn't like that tone. All that was missing from this statement was atta boy.

"I'm in control of myself," I said a little defensively.

"I know, I trust you," she nodded.

And she's right. Even when the other wolves told her to stay away, she always trusted me.

"What did you talk about?" I asked carefully.

She told me everything, about how he thought she was dead after hearing from Alice' vision, and how he had wanted to make sure himself that she was safe. How Alice had talked to Sam and found out about Laurent and Victoria. That must be why he mentioned at his departure that he would keep her safe now.

"Did you… tell him? About us?" I asked after gathering all my courage. I didn't know exactly what I meant. About being friends with a wolf? About kissing me? Maybe loving me?

"No," she admitted, "it didn't come up."

I nodded understandingly.

I must have looked dissappointed though, because she patted the bed sheet next to her, inviting me to get closer.

I took the invitation gladly and sat down behind her, pulling her against me.

She relaxed with her back to my chest . My arms were wrapped casually around her waist, resting in her lap.

Instinctively her hands took mine and I sighed in contentment.

This felt so right, having her here with me. In my home, in my arms, and in my heart.

I kissed the side of her face hesitantly.

She turned around to me slightly, smiling. She seemed happy to be here too, and I felt courageous enough to kiss her lips again.

She returned the kiss, softly and sweetly.

My arms hugged her tighter even.

One of my hands went up to carress the side of her face and her neck. She shivered in the cutest way and goosebumps arose on her skin.

All too soon, the kiss was over and she laid her head back against my chest.

My heart was still racing. I was already looking forward to the next time I could kiss her.

All I wanted right now was to lay her down on my bed, keep her here all night and kiss her till the stars go blue.

I was woken from my daydreams when she suddenly said "he said he'd make it up to me."

"Hmm?"

"Edward," she clarified.

I felt instantly insecure. Here I was, dreaming of her and revelling in the feeling of having her in my arms. Meanwhile she, she was thinking of him again.

My arms dropped to my side and I asked reluctantly "he'd make what up to you?"

"Not keeping me safe. I think he meant that he would stick around, maybe until Victoria was caught."

"I see."

I felt too vulnerable now to stay on the bed, so I got up and paced around the room.

"Jake…" she said, suddenly aware of the effect of her words. How could she be so sweet one moment and so thoughtless the next.

"Just like that, he comes back," I started to vent, "he thinks we need him now to keep you safe? We've been managing just fine."

"I told him that," she tried to calm me down, but I didn't listen.

"And then he's making you promises like that, trying to sweep you off your feet again."

I sat down on the bed, feeling defeated.

"He didn't try to sweep me," she defended him again, much like she had the past year.

I looked at her pointedly, "he doesn't have to try, does he? I know how you feel, I know you, Bella. The way he makes you feel, no human can compete with that."

"It's not about competing," she moved closer to me, and carefully placed her hand on my shoulder.

I hadn't realized that I started shaking again.

"Then tell me in all honesty, Bella, look me in the eyes and tell me you don't feel anything when he looks at you, or talks to you."

She averted her gaze and I continued. "That is what I mean. He can do things to you without even trying."

I wanted to add 'it's not fair' but I kept myself from being the childish boyfriend. I was acting jealous enough as it is.

"You can do things too, things that he can't," she said.

"Like what," I huffed.

"Like knowing exactly what I need at all times. Like making me smile,…" she summed up.

"Being a good friend," I concluded. Always the friend.

"Like kissing me," she interrupted.

"He kissed you too," I objected.

"Not the way you do," she said, blushing, "nobody ever kissed me the way you did."

Hearing her say this made my heart skip a beat, but I wasn't ready to stop pouting.

And I needed to know. So far, she's only been dodging my assumptions.

"But nobody dazzles you like he does," I stated.

"Maybe I'm tired of being dazzled."

"Only you're not, Bella," I said, and she looked me in the eyes.

"I'm sorry..." she muttered.

I was silent for a while. Then I asked, I had to know, "so it's true, he still dazzles you?"

"I don't know, Jacob, I suppose he does, a little."

"And what does that make us? Now he's back?"

"I don't know," she whispered, "I don't know what I feel, what I want."

Just like that, she broke my heart and burst my bubble.

If she felt this way, like there wasn't even an us, then why did she kiss me? Was this her new kind of using me now?

And more importantly, was I strong enough to stop her from doing it? Did I have the self respect to tell her only to come near me if she was sure she'd chosen me?

Of course not.

I would take whatever she was willing to give. I'd accept her feelings for him, like I always had.

"I'm sorry, Jacob," she pleaded, "I never ever want to hurt you. You have to believe me, it's the last thing I want."

I turned towards her slowly.

She sighed and brushed away an escaped tear from my cheek, and then she kissed me again.

How on earth could she tell me that she didn't know what she wanted, and then kiss me like she knows damn well.

I ordered my brain to shut up. I wasn't proud of it, but this is how the situation was.

I closed my eyes and my arms pulled her onto my lap.

This time, she didn't break the kiss. She stayed there and I let her tongue enter my mouth and carress my tongue until her words didn't hurt me so much anymore. Until I was ready to forget the truth, that there was a vampire called Edward who would be able to steal my girlfriend if he tried to.

That's what I did, I let her kiss me till I was crazy enough to think of her as my girlfriend. And everything felt right again.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Please let me know what you think. Is she using him? Should he push her away or hold her close? <em>


	6. Chapter 6 Truth

**Chapter 6: Truth**

BPOV

That night, I was in my bed, replaying certain events. Events that made my heart beat faster and warmed my entire being.

I took my cell and started typing a text: "I'm thinking of you. I'm telling him tomorrow."

In an instant, my phone rang and I was happy to see his name on my screen.

"Hi Jake".

"Hey there!" He sounded pleased and the sound of his voice made my smile grow wider.

He eagerly asked "tell me what you were thinking of."

"Lots of things," I said, "mostly about kissing you…"

"Mmm," he hummed, "me too."

My insides flipped upside down, there was no mistaking this feeling, I was in love. Even if I was a confused mess, I knew this much.

"Tell me," he said, "did you really mean that earlier, that nobody ever kissed you like I did?"

"Yes. I have never been kissed like I have been by Jacob Black," I said in a teasing voice.

"How," he continued, "how do you feel when we kiss?"

"Someone is looking for compliments," I laughed.

"No, I mean, yeah compliments would be nice, but I just want to know if you feel the same way I do."

"Can't you tell?"

"No. Whenever you're near me, I can't think straight."

"Well, when you kiss me everything else in the world fades. You make my head and my belly spin, in a good way. I just… warm up completely," I tried to explain.

I heard him sigh and then whisper "I wish you were here."

"Me too," I confessed, "I'm hugging my pillow now."

"You're so sweet, I could be there in fifteen?"

"No no, it's tempting but we need our sleep. I'll be with you tomorrow."

"After you visit him?"

"Or before? Whichever you prefer."

"I prefer after, I want to know how it went."

We talked a little more, whispering sweet things to each other, and then I dozed off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, I made breakfast for my dad and lied to him that I was going to LaPush. Instead, I took my truck and drove the familiar road towards the Cullen mansion. I had no idea if he'd be there or not, but it was the only plan I had.

When I got there, Alice was already waiting for me at the front door. The rest of the family gathered soon enough and I didn't know who to hug first. They each took turns in apologizing for being so wrong, and they promised me they'd fight Victoria till the end.

Edward stayed back, but I kept searching for eye contact. At last, he ordered the other vampires to leave me alone and invited me upstairs to talk.

I wasn't too keen on being overheard by the rest, but on the other hand, I didn't want to be alone with him either. My feelings and my weak heart weren't to be trusted.

"Are you all moving back here?" I asked, as soon as we were in his room.

"We don't know yet, I think we'll need to find out what Victoria's plans are first. I've been working on my tracking skills the past year, but I'm not very good at it," he confessed.

"I thought you were enjoying your distractions," I muttered, and he looked at me disapprovingly.

"Bella, don't be ridiculous, you should know better by now."

I didn't respond and sat down on the decorative bed.

"I guess it doesn't matter now," I started the conversation, thinking of a way to bring up Jacob.

"No, I suppose not," he said, "you gave up on me with my first attempt, in that forest."

My head snapped up, how could he think that I ever gave up?

"I didn't," I responded, "never."

"Bella…" he sighed with a pained expression on his face, "for months, all I've been telling you is that I love you and that I cannot live my life without you. And yet, it only took me one lie for you to doubt my feelings. I thought you would fight for me. I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry, but your lack of faith hurt me as well."

I had no idea this was coming. Had I really been this wrong?

"It made no sense," I muttered in my defense.

"Oh but it does," he said and he was in front of me now, on his knees, forcing me to look into his piercing eyes. "If only you know how special you are to me, you are so precious."

His cool hand brushed against my cheek and I felt the familiar electric shocks I used to feel with his every touch.

"It doesn't matter now," I repeated. "I met someone. He saved me in every way, he's my best friend. And there might be something more."

His hand dropped to his side, but he stayed in front of me.

"It's the wolf, isn't it?"

I nodded and he got up to pace the room much like Jacob did when he talked about Edward.

"Are you two in a relationship?" he asked, and I could tell he was uncomfortable with questions like this.

"I don't know, sort of…" I said, getting uneasy myself.

"What does that mean? Either you are, or you aren't."

I didn't like his demanding tone, so I said in a cold voice "in that case I suppose we are."

"I see," he said, and the pain he felt was clear even though he stood still now, facing the window.

"Do you… love him?" he asked quietly.

With this question, there wasn't any doubt, I could answer without hesitance "yes."

He nodded slowly and then started pacing again.

"If he were human," he said, more to himself than to me, "I could allow it, but now…"

"You don't have to _allow_ anything," I replied. "I can pick my own friends."

I forgot how controling he can seem sometimes. Somehow the memory of him turned into a perfect creature, when in fact, I used to be annoyed a lot when he wanted to make decisions about me as if I was a child.

"But Bella, he's dangerous. He's a young wolf; it's a matter of time before he snaps."

"He's safe," I defended him, "he won't burst, he's more in control than some of his older friends because he's got it in his blood."

"How old is he, really? Isn't he younger than you are?"

"Really, Edward, you're gonna talk to me about age difference?"

"Bella," he said to me again in that patient tone you use with disobedient kids, "relax, I'm not trying to diss your friend, honestly. But he's still dangerous, even if you don't recognize the risks. I don't see how you're better off with him than with me. I won't give you up just like that."

"He didn't leave…" I said, and it sounded like an accusation.

He sat next to me, and held both my hands in his. His presence still affected me, this was the closest he got to me since he came back.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I understand that you don't trust me now, and therefore, he has the advantage. But this time, I'm staying. I realize my mistake, and I'm not abandoning you. You will learn to trust me again. And when you do, then you can decide. If you still want him, I will leave."

I listened to his words that made perfect sense to me. I knew he could be patient and if he meant what he said about still loving me and not being able to live without me, I believed that he would be annoyingly persistent.

The end of his line though made me flinch, the thought of him leaving again, even if right now I wasn't going to choose him, it suddenly seemed unbearable to me.

"Why would you leave then?" I asked and tried to ignore the pain that still lashed around the edges of the hole he once left. "Can't I be friends with both of you?"

He sighed while he absently stroked my hair. I leaned into his touch without thinking twice.

"I'm afraid we can't. I won't be able to be just your friend. And neither will you. You are still crazy about me. I can't read your mind, but I still hear your heartbeat and there's an empath in the house that I can read…"

"I wish things weren't so complicated," I murmured.

"I wish I had come back a little sooner, maybe I'd still be in time to win your heart. I know, if I tried to, I could seduce you easily. Even right now, right here, when you actually came to my house to tell me you chose him. It would come naturally, and you'd be mine again. But I don't want to play like that. I'll be a gentleman and wait until you can fully choose me. It's the only way you'll be able to forget about him."

"You sound really confident," I noticed, and I wasn't sure whether I liked it.

"That is because I know that we belong together."

"We'll see," I said and I forced myself to stand up and walk away from his touch.

I was confused about the way he made me feel. On the one hand, he obviously did still affect me. He was just as gorgeous as I remembered him, his eyes made my heart speed up and his touch felt like electric shocks. On the other hand, his confidence annoyed me slightly. I didn't like that he already made his mind up about my future. In the past, he decided for me as well.

I couldn't help but think that Jacob would never do that. He would respect my opinion and not treat me like a kid.

I said goodbye to the other Cullens and drove my car straight to Jacob.

I know he would be disgusted by the smell, but I wanted to be completely open and honest to him about everything, and I planned to repeat the entire conversation as I remembered it. I'd tell him about the shivers and the racing heart. But most importantly, I'd tell him that right now, this moment, my mind was made up, and I would be his girlfriend.

We were official now.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Some of you let me know that Jacob should take his distance from Bella, at least until she figures everything out. Don't be too hard on either of them, it's not easy to forget about your first love, and taking distance when you're in love is even harder. I hope you are all happy now that she's made up her mind :) Please let me know? <em>


	7. Chapter 7 Treaty

**Chapter 7: Treaty**

JPOV

She told me everything.

I was a little apprehensive at first, but after she mentioned casually about telling him she loves me, all was good and I was floating.

That evening in my car before she knew they had come back was the first and the last time she said it to me; hearing it again filled me with happiness. Especially now _he_ knew as well.

The odds were finally turning in my favor, and I was over the moon with joy.

I asked if I could start calling her my girlfriend now, with the pack and all. She answered with the sweetest smile and a hard kiss planted on my lips. So that was set.

I was taking her to the bonfire tonight, and this time, I wouldn't just hold her hand. I'd show my wolf brothers that the patient ones can get lucky too. Every duck has it's day.

I wasn't going to worry about the implications of Edward returning to Forks and practically promising her he'd win her over eventually. I'm not the brooding kind, always enjoyed life from moment to moment, and that's what I would do tonight.

Later that evening, the pack was all gathered around the fire.

This time was different, less exuberant, with the memory of the funeral still fresh in our minds. There was less drinking and less shouting, out of respect.

When the night grew darker, however, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Not to a point where people did get drunk, but there was joy and laughter anyway. Guitars were picked up and songs were sung. The tribe was never closer than tonight, and I loved that feeling.

I couldn't help but grin most of the evening, with Bella next to me every step, her arm tight around me. My friends patted my back and congratulated me. They teased us by asking inappropriate questions. We only responded by kissing each other. I knew Bella didn't like all the attention, but she knew my friends wel enough by now to be able to stand their teasing.

When Embry called me over for a song, waving my guitar at me, I was reluctant at first. I didn't want to leave Bella alone for one minute, I wanted to keep her close. But he insisted and Bella urged me on too, saying that she didn't know I could play.

Embry, Quil and me used to play a lot in my garage, before we were wolves. Dreaming of once forming a band and meeting chicks. It never came to that of course, in fact, we haven't played anything since the whole wolf stuff started and I didn't even know if I could still do it.

He wanted to play Mr. Jones from the Counting Crows, and I gave in. This had always been on of my favourites.

As soon as I played the first chords, I was back into it as if I had never put my guitar down. The song came easily to me and we both had an awesome time, just like all those evenings spent in my garage. I have no idea why we ever stopped making music, and I promised myself to pick up this habit again.

When the end came near, we both sang loud, eyes closed.

After it was done, some family members and friends applauded and we laughed. This wasn't a stage, this was just some friends having fun.

I searched for Bella and when I found her, I saw the admiration clear on her face. She stared at me, her eyes wide, and I felt more powerful than ever.

I walked over to her, feeling this new found confidence in every step. When I picked her up, she whispered in my ear "you have never looked more sexy than you do now" and she kissed me hard.

So this is what it feel like to be a rock star. It was awesome. She's always called me sweet, and cute, and all sorts of things that boys rather not hear from a girl they're willing to seduce.

Never before did she call me sexy. Now I was definitely going to keep playing my guitar, if this was the effect on her.

The rest of the evening, we stood even closer than we did before. Her arm was still around my waist, but her hand went underneath my shirt. Her fingertips were softly touching my hot skin.

I still couldn't believe she called me sexy. Most of all, I wanted to leave this party, and find a place to be alone. My friends would notice though, and they already teased me a lot. So we stayed there, talking, and enjoying each other's closeness.

In the middle of a discussion about teachers at the rez high school, I sensed something strange was up.

So did Embry and Jared, because our conversation stopped abruptly and they too searched the crowd with their eyes.

Suddenly I caught a glimpse of something that enraged me: Sam was walking into the forest with Edward! How dare that leech break the treaty and enter our property, with all of our people here?!

Immediately I started marching over there, my form shuddering violently. I vaguely noticed Bella trying to stop me, but it had no effect whatsoever other than her being dragged over there while she was grabbing my arm.

Before I could reach them, Sam turned around and said in a deep voice "stay back."

It was an alpha order which made me stop dead in my tracks and I growled at both of them. How dare he use his orders on me like that, in front of Bella and the bloodsucker. It was almost humiliating.

Edward, like a true gentleman, spoke "no, it's okay, I wanted to talk to Jacob as well."

"What are you doing here," I hissed.

"We had some matters to discuss about Victoria," he clarified, knowing that I would calm down when things concerned Bella's safety.

She was now standing next to me, her arm around my waist holding me firmly, as if it would keep me from attacking him. I was still furious that he had the guts to endanger our people by coming into our territory. All that kept me in place was the alpha order.

"I wanted to thank you, Jacob."

I eyed him suspiciously, without responding.

"For keeping Bella alive," he continued, "when I didn't".

"I didn't do it for your benefit," I muttered under my breath.

"I know. But that doesn't erase the gratitude I feel. I thought you should know that."

"Fine," I growled, "are you finished? Then get your filthy bloodsucker ass off our property before we tear you to pieces."

"Jacob," Bella pleaded, but I ignored her. She should know that he was out of line here.

"Relax," he said in his ever calm voice, "your people are perfectly safe. At least from me. I came here alone, showing that I mean no harm. If they are in any danger, it would be because of the many young wolves running around here. Me, I'm perfectly in control."

When he said this, his eyes were on Bella alone. He was trying to make a point about her safety, trying to convince her to come with him instead of staying here.

That was it. He was already out of line, but that went too far.

I was pissed off to no end and I took my revenge even though I was locked in place. I recalled a memory of Bella that I replayed many times over in my head. The part where she told me he never kissed her the way I did. I didn't stop at that. I added some images as well, of her on my lap kissing me feverishly in the car, or on my bed, her blushing face and red lips, almost sore from the long and deep kisses.

"Jacob, stop it," Bella almost screamed.

Hearing her plead like that finally snapped me out of it.

I saw that Edward's confident and strong composure had crumbled. He stood in front of us, defeated, with a tortured expression on his face.

If he could howl, he would have done it, I was sure of it. I knew all too well what it was like to be the one who didn't get the girl, and I was ashamed instantly.

Bella released my arm and started walking over to him.

"Edward, I'm sorry," she apologized. But before she could reach him and try to comfort him, he was gone.

She turned around towards me, and the expression on her face showed her disapproval and disappointment.

"What did you do?" she asked accusingly.

"I showed him that you're safe in my arms, that you're mine," I confessed reluctantly. I felt disappointment in myself as well.

"I'm sorry," I added, "I guess that was too much."

She nodded and returned to stand next to me.

I knew I had lost my good points here. I had just proven to her that he was indeed more in control than I was. I let my anger get the better of me and lashed out.

He returned home alone tonight, the girl was still by my side, but as far as sympathy went, he won and I lost.

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><p><em>AN: What did you think of the confrontation? Who was out of line? <em>


	8. Chapter 8 Fire and Ice

**Chapter 8: Fire and Ice**

BPOV

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><p><em>Some say the world will end in fire,<em>  
><em>Some say in ice.<em>  
><em>From what I've tasted of desire<em>  
><em>I hold with those who favor fire.<em>  
><em>But if it had to perish twice,<em>  
><em>I think I know enough of hate<em>  
><em>To say that for destruction ice<em>  
><em>Is also great<em>  
><em>And would suffice.<em>

* * *

><p>Seeing Edward like that, all sorrow and pain, hurt me more than I was ready to admit.<p>

I left the bonfire not too long after that, saying I needed the sleep because I had school the next day. I had already missed a few days last week after the cliff-diving accident.

It wasn't a lie, but when I got home I didn't sleep.

I kept seeing his face, that is usually so hard to read. Now his expression was grimaced, as if he was forced to witness the most horrible thing. Which is probably exactly what happened.

I didn't blame Jacob, Edward wasn't supposed to be there. And I understood why he got so mad when Edward made another comment about young wolves being dangerous.

But I still wish he hadn't shown him whatever it was that made Edward fall to pieces.

This wasn't the vampire I had fallen in love with. And even though he wasn't my future anymore, to some degree I loved him still.

I didn't want him to be hurt, I wanted him to show his crooked grin again, the one that made me drown in his perfection. I wanted to hear his laughter. He rarely laughed out loud, but when he did, it sounded like heaven to me.

I promised myself, that night in my bed, that I would make him smile again. I had caused this pain, and I would try to erase it again. No matter what.

Except, I had no idea how. I think I was probably the last person he wanted to see right now. I left my window open but nobody showed up, and the next days, I was far too busy with school to sneak out towards the Cullen mansion. I didn't know what to say anyway.

After a week of me being distant with Jacob, focusing all my attention on schoolwork, and brooding over how hurt Edward looked, I finally got in my truck and drove to Edward's house. I planned to act as if that bonfire never happened, I'd be all casual, and I'd prove to him that we could be friends.

When I arrived, I was greeted by Alice. She towed me inside and started a conversation about everything and nothing. It seemed to me that she was afraid I wouldn't show up anymore, now I had chosen Jacob. She didn't bring up his name, nor did she mention the danger of wolves, which was a relief to me.

Apparently Edward was out hunting, but he'd be back soon according to her.

When he finally walked in, he stopped as soon as he saw me. He then figured I was here for Alice, and walked on straight to the stairs, without speaking to me.

His behavior hurt me, after all, I wasn't the one who had showed him those images, but I guess I did hurt him first just by being with Jacob. So I hid my feelings and said "Edward?"

He stopped but didn't look at me.

"Can we talk?" I asked in a soft voice, ready to take his rejection.

He slowly turned and looked around the house, checking who else was present.

"Outside?" he asked, without looking at me. Clearly he didn't want to be overheard.

"Sure," I replied relieved.

He marched out again, and I quickly followed after Alice nodded at me that it was okay.

He walked straight to the forest and I almost had to run to keep up with him.

When I tripped he sighed and said "get on my back."

His annoyed tone was like a slap in my face and I already regretted coming here.

He noticed and then said in a softer voice, "let me help you," before he lifted me onto his back easily, holding my arms in a firm grip around his neck.

He ran through the forest at vampire speed and I felt like I was flying again. The trees flashed by and his sweet scent made me dizzy. How could he still feel so familiar to me, as if he was the one I belonged with?

I rested my head on his shoulder and breathed against his neck.

At this he abruptly stopped, put me down and backed up a few steps, as if I had bitten him.

I scanned his eyes for thirst but they were light golden, he had just been fed.

"You can't…" he started in a tight voice, "you really shouldn't feel the things you do, it makes everything so much harder."

I understood now that my affectionate behavior, even if just for one second, was hurting him.

"I'm sorry," I muttered.

"Why are you here, Bella? I thought things were clear now. It seemed to me like you made your choice."

Again his words cut into me like knives.

"I want to be your friend, Edward."

He shook his head, we had already discussed this.

Then I added "I need you in my life. I can't lose you again."

"Bella…." he groaned. "What could you possibly need me for? He can give you everything you want."

"I don't know, I just do. I thought about you all week. What happened to not giving me up?"

I knew it wasn't fair of me. Begging him to stay near, when clearly our interactions were hurting him. Was I really that selfish?

"You don't want me to fight for you…" he stated.

I wondered again what Jacob had showed him to change his mind like that. He was right, I didn't want him to fight, but I also didn't want him to feel like this. I hardly recognized him.

"Would you really rather not be in my life at all than being just my friend?"

"Oh Bella," he shook his head, "I wish I could be your friend. It's not that I don't want to. And if that is really what you want, I promise I will try. But I'm afraid that I can't. It's difficult… You have no idea how close I was just now to… I probably shouldn't even say it."

"Probably," I nodded, but my mind was already wondering. Close to do what? To hold me? Kiss me?

My eyes lowered towards his lips. I still remember how they felt against mine, his sweet taste…

"Please, don't…" he begged me.

I shut my eyes quickly and forced the image away.

"You can't be my friend either. You're only fooling yourself here, Bella. You want me just as much as I want you."

I didn't have the strength to deny but I replied "I'll try. I will fight to keep you in my life. I'll prove to you that I can still make you happy, even if it's not everything you want."

He stepped closer to me, with that pain in his eyes that was already familiar to me.

"I don't know if I'll ever be happy again," he said softly, "I miss you…"

My knees grew weak, our gazes were locked. "I miss you, too. A lot," I confessed.

And it was the truth. Even if he was no longer the center of my universe, and even if the hole in my chest was healing up.

"It doesn't change a thing, does it?" he asked softly.

"No. I'm sorry."

I felt torn up inside. Was there really no way that I could make both of them happy? Why did I have to be the one to hurt them? Because that is what I was doing, I was hurting them both and I couldn't help it.

After a short silence, he said, "I'll think about what you said, and I'll try to be your friend. Let's go back now."

I agreed, and we started walking back.

It didn't take him long to grow impatient with my clumsiness and he invited me on his back again. This time I was careful enough not to breathe in his scent, so that I wouldn't give him mixed signals.

All the ride home from the Cullen mansion, I was going over and over the different options. But this was really a catch 22, no matter what I tried or did, someone would get hurt.

So in the end, I decided to stick with the choice that would hurt _me_ the least. Stay true to the one who knows me, who saved me, the one I trust most.

I texted him "I love you," and was immediately cheered up with a grinning text ":-)))))))".

By the time I reached my driveway, my mood was light again.

Until I saw Charlie sitting at the dinner table. The whole house smelled of something burned. Apparently he had tried to prepare some lunch. I noticed a lump of spaghetti waiting on a plate for me.

"You might wanna heat that up again," he started, and I sensed that he was uncomfortable.

I hadn't told him where I was going, and I wondered if he would be mad at me for staying away without warning. I have disappeared in the past and he tends to get worried. I guess that is part of his job, being sherrif.

He seemed more uneasy than mad, so I didn't object to the weird looking spaghetti. I put it in the microwave for thirty seconds and then sat down at the table, waiting patiently for him to start.

He was a man of little words, and it often took him a while to figure out what he needed to say.

But apparently now he had his speech prepared, cause he took off right away.

"We need to talk," he stated. I nodded while I tried to chew the sticky spaghetti.

And then he blurted out his entire speech all at once, without allowing me any time to respond.

"So… they're back. I figure you know that already. I've known for a few days now, but I didn't tell you because I knew how upset you were when he left. And upset is such a massive understatement. But I think you found out yourself, or they found you, whatever.

And I also noticed that you didn't leave the house this week. You used to spend all your days with Jacob, and now there was no trace of him. Which seemed odd to me. But things got clearer when I heard that _he_ was back.

And now today I was under assumption that you were going to LaPush, but then Jacob showed up here, looking for you. I can't say I was surprised, although I definitely do not agree with you dropping your _best friend_ as soon as _he_ returned.

And now… now I'm worried about you, Bella."

He emphasized the words best friend, to let me know where his sympathy was.

"So you think I'm back together with Edward?" I asked, after swallowing something that tasted like sauce with too much spice.

"I added two and two," he simply said. "I'm not going to say I agree, but right now I'm mostly worried."

I shook my head, "you can stop worrying then, I'm not with him."

"So you weren't at the Cullens just now?" the relief was clear on his face and in his tone.

"I was, but he's just my friend. They are my friends."

"And you're okay with that?" He raised his eyebrows.

I could tell that he was struggling to understand. I had been depressed most of the year and now he showed up again, and I casually said that he was just my friend.

Perhaps he needed to know the rest of the story as well. We've already told everyone else, so I might as well.

"I'm okay, yes, because I sort of have another boyfriend now."

"Really?" his eyes widened, "and why have I never met that fellow?"

"You have, dad," I laughed, "it's Jacob. Me and Jacob, we're together now. I guess you could say he's my boyfriend."

"Oh," he said, still a little shocked, and then his grin grew "Oooh. Well then, very nice. Good of you, Bella."

"Thanks," I grinned back.

"Does he know, about the Cullens? You're not having fights over them are you?"

I decided to be honest about the more complex parts too.

"Yes he knows. We're not fighting, but it's true that their return made things a little more… complicated. You know I had a hard time getting over Edward, and Jacob knows that too. This week, I've just been focusing on schoolwork and I guess Jacob is giving me space. Was he upset that I wasn't home?"

"If he was, he didn't show it. Always so cheerful that boy."

"So I suppose you agree with Jacob being my boyfriend," I smirked.

"You don't need my permission, but yes, I truly believe he is a good choice for you. You're so different now. Obviously you're no longer depressed, but you're even different now than you were in your days with Edward. That wasn't healthy."

I've heard this before, several friends told me the same thing after he left. That I was too obsessed, and he was too controling.

I didn't want to see it back then. I even didn't want to see it after he was gone. But now I get what Charlie meant.

If I had been with Edward right now, instead of Jacob, and Edward came to my house to find out I was with Jacob without informing him, he would have been upset. He would have waited for me to tell me my behavior was inappropriate and reckless. Would have made me feel guilty about it.

Whereas Jacob simply returned home without giving me a million worried calls.

And when I text him that I love him, he smiles at me without making me feel guilty for not being around.

I'm starting to see now that I have the best boyfriend ever.

Even if I'm still getting over my ex. My boyfriend is patient and understanding, and I would show him just much I appreciate it.

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><p><em>AN: A lot going on in this chapter, I hope you all enjoy this story still. Please let me know what you think. <em>


	9. Chapter 9 Gratitude

**Chapter 9: Gratitude**

JPOV

* * *

><p>She called me up to tell me she'd been at the Cullens, and that Charlie knows about us now.<p>

I already figured out that first part. I wasn't happy about it, but the second part definitely made up for it. With the dad knowing, we must be completely official now. I couldn't believe that she, after spending time with him, still wanted me. More and more every day so it seemed.

At the end of the conversation she thanked me for being me, whatever that might mean, and she mentioned showing her gratitude later.

She had some schoolwork to take care of with Angela and she invited herself over to my house in the evening. Which was fine to me, especially if she planned to show me gratitude. I couldn't wait to find out how she planned to do that.

I spent my day taking care of wolf business, something I had been doing a lot the past week to keep me busy, so that by dinner, I was completely free.

And I was even more lucky when I heard my father yell from the porch that he would be with Charlie and Sue all evening so we had the place to ourselves. There was some stuff I needed to discuss with her that I didn't want my dad to hear.

When she finally arrived, a little later than I had hoped she would, she flung her arms around my neck and said in my ear "I missed you so much". All my doubts, that were somehow still gathered in this week where she clearly needed distance, faded again.

"Me too, Bells," I said, and I twirled her around, holding her locked in a bear hug.

I carefully put her down again and joked "before you tear my clothes off in all your gratitude and jump my bones, we should talk."

She playfully nudged me, but then her face became more serious.

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, yes and no," I started, "let's get upstairs. Billy isn't around, but we can get more comfortable there."

I winked at her and she smiled her sweet smile. She knew I didn't mean anything by it, we've been teasing each other all year and she's never been uncomfortable around me so I hope she wouldn't start now.

She followed me upstairs and got on the bed, leaning against the head board. She didn't pull up her legs this time, wrapping her arms around herself as if she was trying to feel safer. She looked relaxed.

I sat down as well, facing her.

"It's about Victoria," I said, and she winced at the sound of the name.

"What about her?" she asked warily.

"She's been spotted in the woods, Quil saw her and I'm sure the leeches saw her as well, because they are very much on guard these days."

"Are you sure? Edward didn't tell me anything about that."

"No, of course not," I huffed, "when has he ever wanted to share any vital information with you?"

"Good point," she said, and I continued, "we've put down patroling schedules, scanning the woods day and night, right up to the border. That's what kept me busy enough this week to not bug you every day."

"Has she come near my home?"

"No," I shook my head and then admitted "not yet."

"But you all believe she's after me, still?"

"It's a possibility."

"And how do you know the Cullens are on guard?"

"We smell them near our borders, they've been patroling their territory as well."

She nodded, still as calm as ever.

"Aren't you afraid?" I asked.

"Of course I am," she admitted, "it's never going to stop is it? She won't quit until I'm dead."

"Don't underestimate us, Bella, you saw what we did to Laurent, she's next on our list, believe me."

"But she's escaped so many times before."

"That's right, she can keep running, that's fine by me, but if she ever comes near you, I swear I'll rip her to pieces myself."

"Maybe she's waiting for a hole in your defenses, if she keeps probing and returning."

"Possibly, but we won't let our guard down. We're on edge as it is, we have the Cullen presence in our town to thank for that. The pack is still growing, and we're gaining more and more control every day. We're also getting tuned in on each other. The longer she waits, the stronger we get."

"You sound so confident," she smiled sadly. I could tell that she was concerned and knowing her, she'd probably be even more worried about me than about herself.

"Don't I always?" I tried to relax her with my smile.

She smiled back "yes you do."

"With reason," I exclaimed, "I'm just so super awesome it's hard not to be confident."

At this she laughed out loud and I got cocky "now, how about that gratitude, huh? I'm ready!"

She grinned widely, but instead of shoving me, like I expected her to do, she started to crawl over to me and said in a low voice, "are you sure, Jacob? Can you handle me?"

She suddenly changed from the joking girl nextdoor into my sexy girlfriend, and I swallowed before I nodded.

The thruth was, I wasn't sure I could handle her. When it comes to her, I must say I'm never as confident as I wish to be.

She didn't laugh at my lack of response, but she gently placed her palm against my chest and pushed me down on the mattress. I obeyed, obviously.

She crawled on top of me and then slowly bent down to kiss me.

This wasn't the Bella I was used to, but I sure didn't object. I wrapped my arms around her body, and answered her kiss with an eagerness that had built up over the past week.

I was pleased to no end to feel that she was just as greedy, her body was pressed against mine and her tongue pushed between my lips, searching for mine. It was hard not to get affected by her hungry and sexy behavior, but I didn't want her to feel that.

I flipped us over so that I was on top now. Her arms were wrapped around my neck and she kissed me so hard I was getting breathless.

I thought she would calm down a bit if I was in charge, but I was wrong. She placed her legs around my waist and pulled me closer to her. I broke the kiss and held her close, panting almost. She didn't stop, and kept kissing every inch of skin she had access too.

She must have known that she was in control now. She pressed her body against mine and gently bit into my shoulder. I was completely surprised by the rush of desire that coursed through me when I felt this. I groaned in her ear and pulled free from her grip easily only to attack her mouth again.

It pleased me to hear that she too was moaning softly. I wasn't the only one being blown away here.

At last, she softly pushed her hands against my chest and I lifted myself, giving her some more space to breathe.

She looked absolutely adorable, with her red cheeks and her eyes staring at me dreamily. "You drive me crazy, Bells," I panted. My voice sounded strange to me.

"You too," she whispered. "But you're too hot," she added, "litereally I mean."

"Oh." I quickly got up. My skin had been burning her, that's why she was blushing so much.

She took off her sweater and fanned herself with her hands.

She smiled at me, still panting a little, and said in the sweetest voice "figuratively as well. I think you can handle me, Jacob Black."

I smiled back, "I'm not so sure about that, I think you'll kill me some day if you keep showing gratitude like that."

She just shrugged innocently, and pulled me back on top of her for more kisses.

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><p><em>AN: I hope you all enjoy this ;) Please let me know?<em>


	10. Chapter 10 Motives

**Chapter 10: Motives**

Bella POV

* * *

><p>Weeks passed by like this. I tried to focus on schoolwork during the week, calling Jake up every day, and the weekend was spent mostly at LaPush.<p>

My dad didn't object. He spent a lot of time there too, and he knew I was dating a younger guy which somehow made him relax about curfew. I think if I were to ask if I could spend the night, he'd be perfectly okay with it. He trusted Jacob and so did I.

So far, I haven't spent the night, although Jake has asked me a number of times. He was worried about Victoria, thought I would be safer in the rez and his sister's room was empty anyway.

He didn't suggest that I spend the night in his bed. Yet.

He might soon though. I think I was pushing some of his limits a little.

He never restrained me the way Edward had, he let me have my way with him just as I pleased. But he also didn't make a move to take our make out sessions further, even though his body made it perfectly clear to me that he wanted to. I think Edward would have been surprised at the amount of self control this young wolf had.

Thinking of Edward made me sad again. I haven't met him since our last conversation in the woods. He had promised me he would try to be my friend, and I thought he would come round if he was ready, but he never showed.

I missed him terribly.

I had my share of distractions, but knowing that he was in the neighbourhood, feeling like crap and missing me too didn't help matters.

I didn't have his number so all I could do was drive over there.

The thing is, I had done that last time. This time it was his turn to get in touch.

And I would wait. Like I have for weeks now.

Victoria hadn't returned to Forks, but the patroling was still on. They promised not to let their guard down and I was thankful.

My dad kept bugging me about college applications, but I knew Jacob would never leave the pack so I wasn't too keen on leaving Forks. He said I could commute, but I just wasn't ready to think about any of it. I still had time to figure out what I want. How was I supposed to choose a university, if I didn't even know what subject I'd like to study, or if I'd like to go to college at all. I didn't even know if I would survive the summer with Victoria on the loose.

I was having all these contemplations as I absent mindedly walked towards my truck in the school parking lot.

There was a bit of commotion and I looked up to see what the fuss was all about. Several girls were gathered around a new car in the parking lot, some of them recognized it and I heard the name Edward Cullen buzz all over.

It took me just one look to realize they were right. It really was Edward's car parked there.

I searched the environment, just like most other girls, and then figured that he wouldn't show up with all the commotion.

I got in my truck and decided to wait, so I put in my ear plugs and pulled out the book I was reading for an English assignment.

I was startled by a soft thud on my shoulder and I nearly jumped up against the roof.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I tried tapping the window but you didn't hear me," he pointed at my ear plugs.

It took me a while to soothe my racing heart. Seeing him again after weeks of missing him didn't help in that area, and I was thankful for the excuse I had.

He waited patiently, until I was calm again, and then suggested I join him for a drive. He needed to talk.

We drove off somewhere and he parked on a cliff with a nice view.

We didn't talk during the ride, I was too busy gripping the seat and praying to stay alive.

When he looked sideways, he flashed me his crooked grin, the one I hadn't seen in ages. And I was thankful again that my heart was already racing from his speeding, so that he wouldn't notice the effect.

The softly purring engine was turned off, but he kept staring out the window.

"So…" I trailed off, ecouraging him to start talking.

"So," he repeated, "I have an idea."

"Shoot."

"Do you still have those plane tickets Esme gave you on your last birthday?"

I thought really hard, and figured, since I hadn't left Forks since he did, the tickets must be somewhere in my room still.

"I think so."

"They almost expire," he said, as if that would explain his entire idea.

"I don't know, I haven't checked the date."

"I have," he said, "they'll only last a few more weeks. I was thinking maybe you should visit your mother in Florida this weekend."

Seeing my mother again did sound like a good idea, but him waiting for me after school to tell me to visit her seemed very weird to me.

"I might do that," I said hesitantly, "but why are you really here?"

"No other reason," he lied, "I just didn't want you to forget about the tickets."

"You could have just told me, or texted me, or whatever." I still didn't believe this was his reason.

He looked hurt now, "I thought you might be happy to see me. After all, you were the one who pleaded me to stay in your life."

"Of course I'm happy to see you!" I assured him, "but the plain tickets, what's it to you, whether I use them or not?"

Was he maybe thinking he should join me there, since I got them from his family? I wasn't going on a weekend with him. Wouldn't do that to Jacob.

"Allright, you're on to me," he said, but when he explained, it wasn't what I expected.

"Alice saw something in her vision. Victoria will come back next weekend, and she couldn't see things clearly because the wolves were involved, but she saw some minor injuries. I'd rather you weren't in town when these events come to happen."

"Who will get injured?" I asked. I wasn't going to run like a coward when my friends were at risk.

"It wasn't clear, but like I said, they are minor injuries, to us. A human… might be different. So I'm begging you. Think about it. I'm sure Jacob would agree with me."

I still wasn't convinced, but then he gave me the best argument, "both vampires and wolves would be safer if they didn't have to worry about you."

"Allright, I'll ask Charlie."

"I'm sure he would agree, if you would take Jacob."

He knew very well that Charlie had never liked him, and he must have read in his mind that he preferred Jacob.

"I can't believe I'm even suggesting this," he murmured under his breath, while he shook his head.

I placed my hand over his ice cold hand, wanting to comfort him, but he pulled it back as if my skin burned him, and I felt stupid for trying.

"Can I ask you something?" he said, "you can tell me if it's none of my business."

"Sure."

"Did you two… you know?"

"Did we what?"

He looked at me and his pained expression begged me to not say it out loud.

This was a topic I was not ready to discuss, not with him and not with anybody.

"We've only just started dating." I replied, hoping that this would be enough.

"I know the youth these days doesn't care much anymore about waiting," he said while looking down.

I responded with a cold voice "I'm not the youth of today. I'm me."

He looked up at me, "exactly," he whispered, "and I remember how… passionate you can be. He's human, he has no reason to hold back."

"Except maybe that he respects me? And that he loves me enough to not want to rush into things."

"Fair enough", he replied, obviously relieved with the answer.

"Would it make a difference if we had?"

"To me, yes, I think so."

"How? You wouldn't me back if I wasn't a virgin?"

"I'll always want you back," he said without hesitation. And then he thought about his next words.

"But maybe you could… as long as you still believe there is a tiny tiny possibility of us getting back together in the future… and I know you don't think that now, but just hear me out… This isn't easy for me."

I nodded. I remember how he used to hold on to his old fashion ways, like a prude almost.

"Maybe you could… you know, wait? Until you're absolutely sure about your future. I'd still love you if you weren't a virgin, but I don't want you to do anything you'll end up regretting."

"Oh, so I should wait for my own sake?" I asked in an insulted tone. He was going a little too far to my liking, asking me not to have sex with Jacob. I had no intention of crossing that bridge any time soon, but if I did, it would be none of Edward's business.

"This is just a friendly concern, Bella. You know the values that I hold, and isn't it natural that I'd like you as my friend to respect those as well, even if it's all rubbish to you?"

I didn't respond.

"If I would ask you for my own benefit, I wouldn't just ask you to wait. I'd beg you to not go near him again, to never touch his skin again, and never tell him he's the only one who kisses you the way he does…"

So that is what Jacob showed him all this time ago, at the bonfire. My cheeks started reddening and my heartbeat sped up in shame.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I muttered.

"It's alright," he shrugged, "I am well aware of the limitations of my… condition. And I really hope he can give you everything humanly possible. And in case he doesn't, I'll be here waiting for you."

"You shouldn't wait," I tried to object.

He ignored that comment.

"And I'll try harder to be your friend. I know I haven't been putting in much effort. I've been busy keeping watch, and…"

"It's okay."

"No', it's not. You made it clear that you wanted me in your life, as your friend, and I told you I would try. I won't break any more promises to you. You can count on me, Bella."

I searched his eyes for the familiar pain, but it seemed faded. He looked sincere and I filled with hope that this could work.

Could I have it all, could I have my wolf boyfriend and vampire friend?

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><p><em>AN: What do you think, can she?<em>


	11. Chapter 11 Florida

**Chapter 11: Florida**

JPOV

During the flight to Florida, I was a little nervous. Not so much about meeting my future mother in law. I knew she would like me. Bella assured me that she wouldn't care about me being a high school dropout with a passion for motorcycles. She said I'd make her laugh and she'd melt like everybody does around me. And she has a point, I do find it easy to win people over just by smiling. It probably also helps that her dad is my dads best friend. I wasn't worried about that.

I was more worried about the things that would happen back home. Leaving the pack behind was not in my nature, but Sam assured me that keeping Bella safe was now pack business as well, so I wasn't abandoning my duty.

I tried not to show it, but I was nervous about the trip as well. Seattle was the furthest from home I've ever been. I felt a little lost, and I think Bella noticed because she grabbed my hand and I squeezed back thankfully.

We relaxed as soon as we arrived at Renée's place. Her house is a little more luxurious than our homes in Forks, and I was amazed at pretty much everything I saw.

We all had lunch together, and it passed by with pleasant conversation. Bella had been right about making Renée laugh. Everything felt right, like I fitted into Bella's life perfectly.

All too soon, Bill and me were playing video games on a huge screen, while Bella sat out on the balcony with her mom, enjoying the sun that hardly ever reaches Forks. The window was open and I listened intently to their conversation, wondering if they were maybe sharing an opinion about me. I wasn't really interested in what the mother had to say, but all the more in what Bella might share.

They were talking about everything and nothing, about Charlie, school, life in Washington... I was losing my focus, but then suddenly my attention grew when Renée said "You're different around him. "

I know Bella is used to people having negative comments on her relationship with Edward, so I was sure this got her on edge. I could clearly hear the irritation in her voice when she said "how so?"

"Oh, nothing bad," Renée quickly responded. "You just seem younger. You've always been old for your age, worrying about everything and taking care of everybody, especially me. With him, you're cheerful, and carefree so it seems. I've never seen you smile as much as you did this weekend."

"I think you're right," Bella answered with a smile in her voice, "I've considered him my sunshine for a while now."

"I can totally see that," Renée said, and they hugged. I was so pleased I ended up losing the game badly.

Later that night, Renée brought both our bags to the guest room. She joked that there are plenty of empty rooms in the house, but she wasn't going to be old fashioned about this. After all, Bella was a legal adult now.

I shot her a wide grin. Neither of us took the effort to point out to her that I in fact was only sixteen and therefor not legal. I wasn't going to complain. Spending a night in bed with Bella was more than I hoped to get out of this trip.

When Bella disappeared into the joint bathroom, I quickly changed into my boxers and got under the covers. I figured we wouldn't need them tonight. Florida is way hotter than Forks is, and she's not used to having a human heater in her bed. But I left the covers on anyway, for now, just in case she was shy.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, wearing a short and a pink tank top, she didn't seem shy at all. She smiled at me sweetly and crawled under the blanket, getting close to me. I was so happy that she wasn't like other girls, who constantly complained about their make up or about how fat they looked. Bella didn't believe she was beautiful, even though to me she's a godess, but she also didn't care enough to hide herself, which was great.

It didn't take us long to get caught up in a deep kiss. It started all innocently, but our bodies were pulled together and our tongues were fighting for dominance.

"Stop, Jake," she panted, pushing me away from her. "I don't want things to get heated up with my mother in the next room."

I dropped on my back next to her, "then stop driving me insane like that," I muttered.

She snuggled against my chest and my arm wrapped around her. "You started it," she smiled.

"You're the adult here," I teased her, "you should have most self-control."

"Hush pup." She planted a kiss on my shoulder and we both cooled down.

"Our first night together," I mesmerized.

"Mmm," she hummed, and I could feel her smile against my skin, "are you excited?"

"It's hard not to get excited when you're looking like that."

She nudged me, "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know I'm not being very romantic, but Bella, have you taken a look at yourself?"

I moved myself from under her so that she was now on her back and I was next to her, leaning on my elbow. I watched her shamelessly, every inch of her. And she didn't try to hide herself, which pleased me. She has no reason to be shy, she looked like an angel.

Her tank top hugged her body, it revealed every curve. My fingertips made small circles around her belly button and moved up towards her breasts. I looked up at her face for one second, to make sure this was okay. She was biting her lower lip, eyes closed, which encouraged me.

With the lightest of touches, I traced the contours of her breasts. She wasn't wearing a bra underneath her tight top, and I saw her nipples respond to my touch. My large hand cupped her breast and I gently brushed the erect nipple with my fingertip.

Her breath hitched, but she didn't move, so I continued my exploration. My hand moved over to her other breast where the other nipple needed some of my attention as well. I rolled it softly between two fingers and again she responded, but didn't object.

I was so turned on right now it was hard not to ravish her. But she didn't want us to get crazy with her mother around, and I would respect that.

My hand lowered towards her belly again, only to slide underneath the thin fabric of her top. I carressed her skin that was now almost as hot as mine, and reveled in the softness of her body. She shivered and I felt the goosebumps under my fingers.

I looked at her face. Her eyes were now no longer closed but fixed on my face. She was still biting her lower lip. I had to try my hardest not to kiss her, I knew things would get out of hand if I did.

All that moved was my hand, it was sliding up again, over her naked skin. When I reached the curve of her breasts, I slid my hand around it, following the contour.

Slowly my palm moved up higher, cuppig her, and I squeezed it gently. I was again surprised at how soft she felt. She never seemed more vulnerable to me, and it was captivating.

My attention shifted to the other side now. With one fingertip, I made circles around the breast, smaller circles every time. Her nipple stood up straight, needing to be touched. And when I finally did carress it, she sucked in the air and a soft moan escaped.

I needed to hear more of that. I gently rubbed the sensitive skin, and again I was rewarded with that divine sound.

I looked at her face and I saw my own feelings reflected, she was close to losing her self control.

"I want you", I whispered.

"Oh Jacob," she sighed, and her voice trembled, "you have no idea what you're doing to me when you say that."

"In a good way?"

"Very good. I want you too."

That was enough for me. For now.

It took all my strenght to pull my hand back from under her top and pull her against me for a hug. I knew better than to kiss her right now. We both stayed still until our bodies stopped screaming, and slowly, we dozed off to sleep in each others arms.

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><p><em>AN: Did you notice the parallels between my story and the original stories? Do you like them? I tried to show how different things are with Jacob, compared to how she was with Edward. <em>


	12. Chapter 12 Question

**Chapter 12: Question**

Bella POV

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><p>When we returned home, we were anxious to meet our family. Billy had told us on the phone that there had been an incident. Victoria did come back indeed, just as Alice had foreseen, but she had escaped, using the treaty line in her benefit. She jumped from one side to the other, and both vampires and werewolves had lost track of her.<p>

Instead, there was a small fight between Paul and Emmett. That bothered me. I wished they would all just relax a bit more and understand that the Cullens and the Quilete wolves were not so bad.

Jacob tried to explain to me that it had nothing to do with understanding, they were simply mortal enemies and there was nothing I could do about that. This also meant that I would have to keep my friend and my boyfriend separated at all times, which saddened me.

After dropping off my bag at home and fixing Charlie, who hadn't eaten properly in two days, some lunch, I drove us both to LaPush to hear the stories first hand.

Jacob's hand was on my knee the whole drive and it warmed me up completely. Something had changed between us. And he felt it too.

I think up until recently, his love for me had been mostly pure and innocent, but now it was growing more intense. Whenever I looked into his eyes, I saw a longing that must have been reflecting in mine.

We moved differently as well. More like one being. We've always been the touchy kind, holding hands and hugging, but now we were closer even.

I guess we left the "just friends" stage behind us for good, and we were clearly a couple now. Feeling comfortable being a couple as well. And I liked it.

The downside was that others noticed it, too. Billy eyed us suspiciously, but he didn't speak.

Later when we were all gathered in Emily's kitchen, the other wolves were not as polite. They kept punching Jake playfully, and congratulating him for 'nailing' his woman. A while ago, comments like that would have thrown him into a fit, but now he just smiled mysteriously, and pulled me closer to him. He said they'd find out soon enough they were wrong if they read his wolf mind, but he wasn't too keen on phasing since they'd probably also see images of my body shift through his mind constantly.

I asked what it was like with the other wolves then. Did he see images of their private life as well? Apparently Sam was in control of certain thoughts by now, but Jared who had just imprinted on Kim, was no pleasure to be around.

As the meeting went on, the stories about the chase and the 'incident' grew bigger and more dramatic.

At first, they just said Paul had burst when Emmett dropped in his neck, and he had bitten him. They hadn't been able to assess the damage, because the vampire was dragged away from the scene by the doctor. Carlisle and Jasper had calmed them all down and soon enough everybody focused on Victoria again. Paul had been unharmed, thanks to the intervention of other vampires and wolves.

Now however, they spoke of several vampire limbs flying around the forest and Paul being nearly ripped to pieces.

I could see that Paul was just fine, but I knew werewolves heal fast. I started to worry about Emmett and decided to go check on their side of the story.

Jacob made a face when I told him my plans, but he didn't try to stop me. He knew me better than that.

He did pull me outside Emily's house and once we were outside the other's views, he pushed me gently against the wall and kissed me deeply.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," he said in his husky voice, and then pressed his body against mine for another kiss.

Yes, something has definitely changed. There was an urgency to our kisses, the promise of something more.

I almost forgot what I planned to do, as his heat became mine.

Finally we broke apart when Quil stepped out and demanded some respect for the singles amongst us. Jacob laughed out loud and I got into my truck, chuckling.

Jacob tapped my window and when I opened it, he kissed me quickly again.

"Hurry back, Bells, I'll miss you."

"Me too," I replied, "every minute."

And it wasn't a lie. As soon as I drove away from the rez, I felt his absence like a cold chill.

I drove straight to the Cullens, and when I walked through the open door, Alice casually said "he's in the garage, no permanent damage done."

Sure enough, when I entered the garage, I saw Emmett waxing his new car.

"Heyyy, whassup Bella!" he said cheerfully. .

"Are you okay," I asked worriedly. I scanned his body for signs of injuries, but he looked fine to me.

He moved his arm up and own and grinned "good as new".

So it was true, they did rip off his arm. And here I was thinking that a vampire wouldn't stand a chance against a single wolf. Apparently I hadn't given the young wolves enough credit.

"But you can distract me from the horrible pain, Bella," he continued with a devilish grin.

I looked at him questioningly.

"You can tell me how your romantic weekend with the pup went. I bet he's not a prude like my brother ey? How sore are you?"

I turned into a scarlet red and shouted "Emmett! That is none of your business!"

"Wait, let me ask Jasper," he said, and I was mortified that they would all be trying to analyze my sex life, just like the wolves had done.

Luckily, Edward came to the rescue. "Leave her alone," he said in his calm voice, "come on, Bella, let's get outside." He shot a glare at Emmett who chuckled and mumbled "prude".

I followed him outside and he muttered while gesturing towards the garage "I'm sorry about Emmett."

"Not your fault," I said, and then added thankfully, "so far, you're the only person who hasn't dared to ask the big question".

He replied softly "well I'm the only person the answer could potentially kill," and then quickly changed the subject.

He told me his version of Victoria's escape, which resembled the other version for most part. He was aware that vampires and wolves had gotten in each other's way and that that was the reason she could get away. But I remembered what Jacob had told me about the mortal enemy thing, so I guess nobody was to blame for their hostility.

Suddenly my phone rang, and when I looked at the screen I saw Jacob's name. I hesitated but Edward said "you can answer," and gave me a little space. I knew it was just politeness, because from where he was standing he could still understand every word I would stay. And probably Jake's as well.

"Hey Bells, I won't be able to meet you tonight," his voice said.

"Oh, how come?" I had been looking forward to having him with me again. After spending the entire weekend in his company, I felt incomplete without him now.

"Apparently I'm the only one in the pack who got some sleep last night. I didn't get much, but still…" I heard him chuckle. I didn't respond, and Jacob understood "is he with you?"

"Yes."

"Right. So, um, yeah, I'm on patroling shedule all night so our plans are cancelled."

"Like all night?" I asked, wondering if I'd be able to call him later. I couldn't imagine going to sleep without hearing his voice first, and I think he understood.

"I'll arrange my schedule so that I can come over around ten, for like two minutes."

"Good," I smiled, already looking forward to it. I needed to see him, even if it was just for one kiss goodnight.

After I hung up, I was a little uncomfortable that Edward had to hear this.

He walked over to me, and I was afraid he'd be distant again. But instead he said "you can stay for a while?"

Now I wasn't rushing back to my boyfriend, I could indeed stay so I nodded, and he smiled at me. His whole face lit up and the sight of it made me feel better. I wasn't dazzled the way I used to be, but I still wanted to keep my promise to myself, that I would make him happy again.

Our conversation shifted from the serious vampire stuff towards lighter topics, such as school and the classroom gossip.

When the night started to fall, I said that I should be going home again. Charlie hadn't seen me all weekend and I wanted to keep the freedom he was giving me.

Edward walked me back to my truck and watched me in silence as I started the engine. I couldn't read his expression, but I felt like he enjoyed our talk just as much as I had and was dreading the moment that I left again.

That moment, I planned on coming over more often, being a better friend.

I put my truck in reverse, hesitated for one second and then said "for what it's worth, that question that everyone's been asking, it wouldn't kill you."

His face brightened again, and I smiled back before I turned the car around and drove home.

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><p><em>AN: Personally, this is my favorite chapter so far. What do you think? <em>


	13. Chapter 13 Imprint

_AN: A big thank you to my new beta Aretee! _

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><p><strong>Chapter 13: Imprint <strong>

Jacob POV

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><p>I was scheduled to patrol all night.<p>

To my relief I found out that, for the first part, Sam would join me. Out of all the wolves, Sam was the least likely to pester me about Bella, and to pry in my brain, asking me questions that would recall memories I actually wasn't willing to share. He had grown out of that childish behavior, so he would be easier to be around.

The second part however, he would be replaced by Leah, who wasn't easy to be around at all. Not that she would pry into my mind, quite the opposite. She would be upset about thoughts I couldn't control. I had promised myself I'd try to comfort her after her father died, but it turned out to be harder than I imagined. She was now more hostile than she's ever been before. So I didn't look forward the switch around 3am.

The evening went by easily; Sam and I cleared our minds and just ran in wide circles around the territory, looking for fresh tracks.

There were none. We didn't expect to find anything, not so soon after her last visit, but we'd be stupid if we let our guard down.

I told Sam I'd like to check up on Bella around ten, and he agreed as long as I didn't stay human too long and I kept my focus in case he'd howl.

I didn't have to sneak through her window, since Charlie trusts me; I just went upstairs to kiss her goodnight. She was already in her pj's but I didn't let my gaze linger.

"Jacob, you came," she said all breathy and totally unaware of what that did to me.

"Well, not yet, but give me a chance." I waggled my eyebrows at her.

She hit my chest in mock outrage, but I barely felt it. "But I do have to go back to Sam, so it's probably better if I don't dwell on that."

I knew if I let things get heated up now, Sam would definitely enjoy the memory of it later.

She nodded understandingly and gave me a sweet but short kiss.

"When can I see you?" she asked.

"I'll be home tomorrow, but I'll probably sleep for most of the day."

"I don't mind," she answered, "I have an English assignment to finish, so maybe I could do that in your room? I promise I'll be quiet. I just want to be with you."

"I'd like that," I smiled back, and after another peck, I left her house again.

I wasn't sure I'd be able to sleep with her nearby, but it was so sweet that she just wanted to be near me, so I didn't object.

When I phased back I only pictured Bella's face, lighting up completely when she saw me enter the room, and my thoughts stayed clear from more private topics.

I heard Sam speak in my mind.

"How is she doing these days?"

"She's fine," I thought back, "she's not easily scared by monsters. I know Victoria frightens her, but she trusts us, so she just carries on."

"Strong one," he said, but his mind gave me another image. I saw his memory of Bella lying on the forest floor after Edward had left her that he found hard to let go. .

"How is she dealing with his return?"

Sam had been the one to find her that day, and ever since then, his disgust with the Cullen family had grown deeper than before.

I tried to gather my thoughts so I could give a clear answer instead of an answer mixed with all my personal opinions.

"She's… good, she's trying to convince herself she can be friends with him."

"Huh," Sam huffed, and I knew exactly what he meant. "Can't you stop her?"

"No," I replied without hesitance. "First, I don't want to stop her. She's not my property; she's free to do as she pleases."

"But they're dangerous," he interjected.

"So are we." I thought but as soon as the idea appeared I tried to push it away again, because I knew this was a touchy subject for Sam, with the whole Emily thing.

I continued, "Secondly, even if I did try to stop her, I know her, she'd be even more determined to make her point. She's the most stubborn person I know."

"Aren't you worried, about her feelings? She was…" he didn't finish that line, but I saw an image of Bella being completely in love with Edward.

Just a few weeks ago, this would have made me insecure, but I was dealing better with that now. I know all too well how much she had loved him-I didn't need his memory for that.

But I was learning to have faith in her. Whenever she came from his place, she reeked, but she wasn't distant. So maybe she was right. Maybe her feelings were turning into friendship.

These thoughts weren't spoken to Sam, but he responded to them anyway.

"But his feelings won't."

"I know. But I also know that he's been the perfect gentleman, only thinking about Bella's best interest. He wouldn't do anything to make her uncomfortable and he knows that she wants me now."

"In the past, I've seen him do things that made her very uncomfortable, when he believed it was in her benefit."

He had a good point there. If he really was convinced that Bella would be better off with him instead of me, he might not give up that easily.

"I don't want to make you doubt her, not at all," Sam interrupted my thoughts again, "but I'm just afraid this won't end well. I think he's only waiting for her to trust him again, before he makes his move, and nobody can predict how she'll react to that."

"Either way," I said, wanting to end this conversation that was making me feel uneasy, "there is nothing I can do now. I can't keep her away from him. I can only hope that by the time she forgives him, she'll no longer have feelings left for him."

Sam understood that the topic was closed now, and he moved on to safer subjects, like the younger wolves. After a while, we fell back into simple running mode, without thoughts or conversations.

It really was easy to be around him and I could hardly remember a time when I disliked my alpha.

"I remember that time," he thought with a chuckle.

I forgot that he was in my mind and I tried to shut the thoughts off again.

"You hated me because I used the alpha order on you a lot. You were one wild and out of control wolf. You were quite a hand full."

"I suppose I was," I admitted, remember the stupid fights I got in, and the endless discussions I had about not wanting to be a wolf and trying to blame others.

"You're doing better now," he continued, "I can feel that you have alpha blood in your veins. I guess that is why we get along better now. You've grown older and wiser."

"Shut up," I laughed, but I knew he was right. I did feel more responsible about the pack, who I considered my younger brothers now, even though Paul, Jared, and Embry were older than me.

"Nice to know you consider me a younger brother," an angry female voice thought.

I flinched, I had no idea it was 3am already and a curse escaped my mind.

"Awesome," she thought sarcastically, "always nice to feel welcome."

"See ya," Sam threw in, and then I felt him leave my mind, phasing back to human and going home.

"To Emily," Leah thought sadly.

I wanted to add something comforting, remember the pain she was in after both losses, but she almost spat "leave it," so I dropped the whole idea.

We kept running in silence, both having our own thoughts but neither responding to what we saw in the other's mind.

She was thinking mostly about Seth. Since her mother Sue was still overcome with grief, Leah had taken the mother role in the house, taking care of her little brother. We still saw him as little Seth, even though he was already 14 now.

She was worried about his grades, and apparently also worried about him turning into a wolf soon. I thought he was way too young for that, but she saw his temper rising and wondered if that was just because he was angry for missing his dad.

I didn't respond to any of her thoughts, I was minding my own business. I recalled the talk I just had with Sam, about Bella and Edward being friends, and about Edward waiting to make his move on her.

I wondered if he were to do it right now, would she be able to deny him? I didn't think so. She was still too much affected by him, she told me that herself.

"If he does, let her go," Leah suddenly spoke to me.

"Huh?" I thought surprised.

"If Edward makes his move on her, let her go back to him."

The idea alone was hurtful to me; there was no way on earth that I was going to give her up without a fight.

"Since when are you such a leech fan?" I thought with anger.

"Don't you see what you're doing to her? The risk you're putting her in?"

"What risk? I'm perfectly in control of myself. _They_ are more dangerous," I defended myself.

"I'm not talking about your temper."

"What risk then?" I asked impatiently.

I heard her sigh and then she said, "what if you imprint?"

"What do you mean? I'm not gonna imprint, I'm with her, I love… Oh…"

I suddenly remembered how Sam had been with Leah, loving her like crazy, when he imprinted with Emily. We all thought he was such a dickhead, for dropping Leah like that.

Only after finding out about imprinting, we knew it was all out of his power.

"That's my point. You think you're safe from your genes and you make her love you," she started ranting. "Haven't you seen the state she was in when she lost her bloodsucker? Do you honestly think she'll survive another loss like that? If you imprint, you'll be too far gone to even care she's hurting. You will drop her like used trash."

I flinched at her words and pictured Bella, devastated and me ignoring her because I was with my new love, whoever that might be.

"I won't meet new girls anymore, that way I can't imprint."

"Don't be ridiculous, Jacob, you can't lock yourself away. She'll want to go to college, she'll invite friends over, she'll want to go on holidays… Just yesterday you met hundreds of girls in the airport. Even if you didn't notice them, you could have imprinted right then and there."

"Well I'm not gonna break up with her just because there is a tiny chance that this _might_ happen to me. It's supposed to be a rare thing."

"I'm not saying you should break up, that would kill her too," she added at a softer tone, "I'm just saying, if Edward wants her back and she's considering it, let her go."

I knew she had a point, but I simply couldn't wrap my head around the idea of letting her go because at some point in our future, I might end up hurting her.

He might hurt her too, so was it really the safer choice? Sure he was a vampire, and they are pretty stable in their feelings, but still…

"Think about it," she said, and I knew I was going to have a hard time not to think about it.

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><p><em>AN: This may be a little unexpected. What do you think he should do? And do you agree with Sam about Edward waiting for his chance?<em>


	14. Chapter 14 Reading

**Chapter 14: Reading**

I knew Jake needed the sleep, so I tried my hardest not to wake him up when I entered his room.

I found a free space on the side of his bed, that wasn't filled with his massive body, and took my books from my bag. I had a reading assignment to finish, so I managed to stop staring at his beautiful relaxed face and opened my book.

It took me a while to find a comfortable position, but when I did, I started working while listening to the even sound of his breath.

Every now and then, I'd stretch my back and allow myself to stare at his gorgeous body. I tried to concentrate, but he had a king of magnetism that pulled my gaze back to him.

My eyes followed his abs towards his pecks and his neck. Then over his jaw to his… opened eyes.

He was staring right back at me and my heart jumped.

"How long have you been watching me!?" I asked embarrassed.

"Long enough to see you drool all over me," he laughed, and then grabbed my arm to pull me into a hug.

"I wasn't drooling," I wanted to playfully nudge him, but I was in his tight grip. He looked at me in the sweetest way, which contradicted the casual and teasing tone he tried to keep.

"Whatever," he said while he breathed in the scent of my hair. He sighed, "I always want to wake up next to you."

"Aww," I said, and I kissed him softly.

He stretched out and picked up the book that had slid to the floor.

"How is your assignment going? Managed to read a bit in between the ogling?" He couldn't help but grin and I'm sure he was very pleased with himself.

I searched the page I had been reading before his body distracted me, and showed him how much more I had to finish.

"Nice job," he said, "go on then. I'll go grab some breakfast downstairs, do you want something?"

"I already had lunch, some water maybe."

"Coming up," he said, and he swiftly jumped from the bed. I watched him leave the room, a big smile across my face. I loved how he was still the same Jacob that I grew to know and love. The one who picked me up when I was down, the one who spent ages joking with me in his garage, who walked around on the beach holding my hand, being completely at ease around me.

When he came back, he wore shorts and a T-shirt, and I gave him a playful pouting look.

"Don't want to distract you any more than necessary," he explained. I could tell that he wasn't playing now. He really wanted me to complete the assignment.

He sat down on the bed, leaning against the headboard with a tray piled with sandwiches on his lap, while switching on the TV.

"Is that okay?" he asked, gesturing towards the TV, "I'll turn off the sound." He took a large bite out his first sandwich.

"It's fine," I said, and I opened my book again. I wanted to get this over with and maybe have some spare time after to do more fun stuff with Jake before he had to take off again.

After he finished all his food, he pulled me closer to him so that I was now sitting between his legs, my back against his chest. He leaned back, still watching TV while I rested against his warm body, trying to read the last pages of the book.

Somehow, the warmth he sent through me, made me lose track of the story. I had been able to concentrate just fine with him in the same room, more or less, but found it harder now he was so close to me. His hand was playing with my hair and I shivered when his fingertips accidentally brushed the skin on my neck.

"How's the reading going?" he asked, leaning forward to check my progress over my shoulder. I held up the book so that he could see how far I'd gone. Which was not far at all.

"Am I distracting you?" he said apologetically, before picking up the remote to switch the TV off again.

"You are," I said, "but not because of the TV."

"Oh," he replied, "how then?"

Before I could answer, he lowered his face to place a kiss on my shoulder, and then moved closer, to kiss my neck.

I dropped the book in my lap and turned my face to kiss him back.

He kissed me deeply while his hands softly caressed my arms and my breasts.

Ever since our moment in that bed in Florida, he must have noticed that I didn't mind being touched there at all, and his hands wandered around almost every time we kissed. I had absolutely no problem being groped, by him, all the time. In fact, I needed his hands on me.

It was the _way_ he touched me, he made me feel beautiful and wanted. He made me crave to be touched in even more places.

"Sorry," he said in a low voice, lifting his hands from my skin, "I'll behave. Read on."

"I don't want to read," I muttered, and I leaned back to kiss him some more, but he held his face out of my reach. "Bella, don't make this hard on me," he practically begged with a longing look, "I don't want to be a bad influence, we can play later."

I smiled at his choice of words and reluctantly picked up the book again.

This time, he didn't kiss me, but his fingertips kept caressing my skin. He wasn't being needy, and I don't think he was trying to get me hot, but the touch of his warm hands over my shorts and the skin of my legs was enough to keep me from reading. Whenever I lowered the book though, his hands were still, and when I held it up again to continue, he carried on.

I chuckled, "you're so mean."

He replied, "I know, but I'll reward you when you're done." He gave me a preview by kissing me softly on the neck.

This should have encouraged me, but I just couldn't focus anymore. So I held the book up and pretended to read, while his hands kept brushing against my skin. He moved his fingers underneath my shirt again, up my belly towards my breasts. I was wearing a bra now, but I could still feel his touch on my already excited nipples. His breath became a little heavier, which made me lean back against his chest and close my eyes.

He moved his hand down again, until he reached the waist band of my shorts. Then lower even, over my shorts to my inner thighs. He touched the sensitive skin between my legs and moved his hand up again, over my shorts. It came to a rest over my center.

Through my pants, his heat warmed me up. I felt his lips ghost across my skin and his hot breath against my neck turned me on even more.

I dropped the book next to the bed, but this time he didn't stop.

His hand moved back and forth a bit, rubbing me gently, and I opened my legs, granting him easier access.

Slowly, his fingers found their way again to the waist band of my shorts, and there he hesitated. My breathing picked up and I tried to figure out if he was teasing me now.

"Bella?" he sounded nervous.

"Yeah?" I laid still against him, my head on his shoulder and eyes closed.

"Have you ever done this before? With another boy I mean?"

"No." I really hoped he wouldn't ask me what exactly I had done with Edward. I didn't want to think of Edward right now. All I wanted was him, and his hands on me.

"Me neither," he said, and he sounded a little lost, "I don't really know what to do."

"Everything you do feels perfect to me," I reassured him, and I turned to look at his face. He looked so sweet, turned on, and insecure at the same time.

That moment, I fell even more in love with him.

He still hesitated, so I decided to encourage him. I pulled my waist band away from my belly so that his hand could slide inside, and he got the hint.

He lowered his face to kiss me sweetly, while his warm fingertips found my panties. I slowly deepened the kiss and opened my legs just a bit more, needing him to go on.

His fingertips followed the edges of the fabric, brushing against my skin, while his tongue stroked mine with the same tenderness.

At last, he moved the panties aside and I felt his touch on my wet center. I sucked in a breath and broke the kiss.

"Am I hurting you?" he whispered worriedly.

"No, please go on," I answered, resting my head on his shoulder again.

With just one fingertip, he explored me, moving it up and down over my folds. He was paying close attention to my every response. When he slid over my sensitive spot, a moan escaped my lips and he immediately tried it again.

He gently moved around it, and rubbed it in small circles until I couldn't help but push my lower body up against his hand. I wanted more. I needed more.

"Bella, you're _so_ hot," he sighed. The sound of his voice so close to my ear made shivers run down my spine.

"Mmm," was my only reply. I was in full surrender now, he was in complete control.

He gave me a little more pressure, flicking my clit back and forth under his fingertips, and I moaned a little more. His free hand moved up, inside my bra, squeezing my breasts, and I could clearly hear his breath speeding up as well.

I was sure I'd feel his arousal if I would move back a little, but I stayed in place, where his hand was doing wonderful things.

I still needed more, so with my hand, I guided his lower towards my entrance. "Push inside," I whispered.

He teased me a tiny bit wetting his fingers with my fluids, but then gave in and pushed his fingertip into me. He paused and gently licked my earlobe. I moaned and he stopped the teasing, sliding his long finger all the way inside.

Tingles rose up in my belly, something I'd never felt before. "Mmm, rub me there."

He was confused, "where? Inside?"

"Yeah, right there…" I panted.

He moved his finger around, deep inside me, and my moans showed him that he found another sweet spot. Slowly he pulled his finger out again, and slid back up, over my swollen center, and then inside again.

He was getting more turned on, I could tell. As my breath kept speeding up, his touch became more urgent. As if he felt a growing need to please me.

Suddenly he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me harder against him. "You're driving me crazy," he groaned into my ear. I could feel clearly what I was doing to him, which made new butterflies rise up inside me.

He moved his attention from one spot to the other, and then decided to win me over completely, as his free hand slid inside my pants as well. Two long fingers curled deep inside me, rubbing away, sliding in and out, while his other hand tickled my clit at the same pace.

"Oh Jacob," I panted, "this feels amazing."

"I want you so bad, Bella," he sighed into my neck, and as a proof of his arousal, he pushed his erection against my back.

"Me too…" I gasped, almost unable to form words.

My nails dug into the skin of his legs as I shifted my body closer to his fingers.

His movements became faster, fingers sliding in and out of me, pushing deeper every time, his other hand rubbed my center harder now.

In the same rhythm, I felt his hips move slightly, brushing his arousal against me.

I felt like I was ready to burst at any moment.

I was aware that my moans were sounding needy and desperate, like a whimper almost, but I couldn't help it. I gave in completely.

His sliding fingers stayed inside me, massaging me deep down, and his rubbing hand focused on one spot alone. I could feel my climax approaching.

"Please, oh Jake," I moaned, "don't stop now, oh god."

"Mmm Bella," he panted. He softly bit my earlobe and that was enough. I fell over the edge, tumbling down hard as my body convulsed around his fingers. My hand instinctively grabbed his to hold it still, when my body quivered against him.

He kept both hands in place now and waited for my trembles to subside. I panted heavily.

I've never surrendered like that before, and I'd never felt such a release.

When I calmed down enough to look up at him, I saw the most amazing expression on his face, as if he had been the one who'd just had a massive orgasm. He grinned and pulled his hands from my shorts. Then flipped me on my back and kissed me hard.

When he broke the kiss, he said "thank you", and I chuckled.

"I should be the one to thank you."

"Yes you should," he replied jokingly, "you can rub my sore hands later."

I just started to consider rubbing something else instead, when we heard Billy enter the house who shouted for us to join him and Charlie for dinner.

We both laughed out loud at our perfect timing. He quickly washed his hands and I adjusted my clothes. I threw some cool water in my face, as I was sure my blushing cheeks would be a clear sign that I hadn't been reading. I threw my assignment in my bag and knew that I'd have naughty memories every time I saw that book.

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><p><em>AN: I hope you enjoyed that? ;)<em>  
><em>Happy Easter!<em>


	15. Chapter 15 Scent

**Chapter 15: Scent**

* * *

><p>All through dinner Bella kept giving me meaningful looks.<p>

I could see all kinds of emotions in her gaze. Mostly love, but it was spiced with thankfulness, admiration, and a little bit of surprise at what had happened earlier. Much the same things I was feeling.

I wished we could have had more time together afterwards, to share this mix of emotions with whispers and hugs, instead of just with our eyes. Something in her expression told me that the night wasn't over yet. She didn't look satisfied, even though she must have been, at least for a while.

No. Hungry is what she looked like. And I liked it.

I could almost read in her eyes all the naughty things she wanted to do to me, and boy did I want those things.

Even though we had been perfectly happy before all this, to just be in each other's company and nothing more, at least for some time, the easy romance that had been between us was now replaced by a smoldering fire. It burned us up, both of us, and we would soon give in to it.

When Charlie and Billy decided to go to a bar for another drink, Bella said she needed to get home to work on her assignment some more. We excused ourselves and nearly ran towards her truck.

While she drove home as fast as the old beast would take us, her hand was on my thigh the whole ride. She moved it slowly up and down, occasionally brushing against my hard-on through the fabric of my cutoff jeans.

I knew I wasn't supposed to have expectations, but it was hard not to imagine that tonight might be _the_ night.

We didn't know how much alone time we'd get, because usually Charlie doesn't stay out late on weekdays. Our time was limited, and we both felt the rush. I was thinking that I had wanted our first time to be mostly romantic, without a chance of getting caught, being completely relaxed. But right now, I didn't care about that anymore. The urgency we both felt didn't allow us to wait for the right moment.

When she parked the truck, she almost dragged me towards the front door, giggling. Could she be just as nervous as I am?

As soon as we were inside the house, she jumped up into my arms and kissed me hard and passionately. I loved it when she took control like that. I ignored the vampire smell that always lingered in her house since the Cullens returned, and lifted her up so that her legs were now wrapped around my hips and her back was against the wall. I pressed my body close to her, while she kissed me hungrily.

My senses were telling me something was up, but there could have been explosions outside the house and I still wouldn't let go of her. I told myself it was probably just the rush that made me uneasy-the fact that Charlie could be home soon.

Without releasing my grip on her, we stumbled up the stairs. We never stopped kissing, her arms were tight around me, and I pushed her bedroom door open with my foot.

It was then that I could no longer ignore my senses.

I lowered her onto the bed, and said "don't move," while I looked around the room to check what was up. The room still looked just the same as it always had.

But suddenly, a sickening realization hit me. The smells I had been ignoring weren't familiar to me; the vampire who had been inside the house wasn't a Cullen.

As soon as I grasped this, I lifted her up in my arms without speaking a word and rushed outside the house again, into the truck.

I could tell that Bella was alarmed, frightened even, but I was too close to phasing to talk to her, I merely growled "stay here, please." I looked her in the eyes to make sure she knew I was serious, and she nodded fearfully. I slammed the door shut, quickly threw off my shorts and phased on the spot.

Before I entered the house again, searching for traces of the leech visitor, I howled for back-up.

Less than a minute later, a familiar whisper said "Sam here, what's up?"

"Unknown vampire smell in Bella's bedroom. They left already, I don't know why they came in, I don't see anything…"

He interrupted my thoughts "I'm on my way. Jared, get Embry and Paul and come over there as soon as you can."

"Will do," Jared replied.

"I'll go check on Bella," I told Sam, and he agreed. I phased back, pulled on my shorts and jumped into the truck.

"Are you okay?" I asked her worriedly. She still sat in the same position I left her in, seemingly calm but her eyes wide with fear.

"What happened?" she demanded. I forgot that she can't read minds, so she still had no clue.

After explaining what I knew, Sam arrived and he searched the place for traces. This was an unfamiliar scent, so it wasn't Victoria. We were at a loss for possible explanations.

Minutes later, the other three wolves appeared as well, before they were sent out by Sam to track the trail as far as possible.

I still couldn't believe I had been so reckless, so caught up in my own teenage feelings, to recognize the danger we had been in. My senses had tried to warn me and I chose to ignore them. Such a mistake, it could have ended badly. What if the vampire had still been inside the house? He could have gotten to Bella in the one split second of surprise he would have over me.

I should have known better.

After giving the others clear instructions, Sam walked towards us, looking at Bella worriedly. Even without reading his mind, I could tell what he was thinking, and I assured him that she was fine.

"I need you to do something for me, Bella," he started.

She blinked and looked up at him.

"Can you call that future seeing friend of yours and ask if she had any clue. If she saw you jump, back then, she definitely must have seen the danger you had been in just now."

There was a little bit of annoyance in his tone, but I was sure Alice didn't see a thing. She wouldn't let anything happen to Bella, of that much I was sure. Bella nodded and slowly took her phone.

Before it had a chance to ring, an alarmed high pitched voice answered, "Bella, what happened?"

Apparently she did see the phone call in her visions.

Bella told her that there had been a vampire in her room, and before she could finish her sentence, the girl on the other end interrupted "I'm on my way."

Bella tried to stop her, saying there were wolves protecting her, but I could hear the engine of the fast car through the receiver and I know she'd be here within minutes. Bella was clearly worried about how we'd respond to each other, but we weren't going to leave her side. If Alice wanted to show up, she'd have to deal with the pack.

The car that rolled into the driveway wasn't Alice's car though, it was the silver Volvo, and my mood dropped even lower. Great, just what we needed, mister perfect to the rescue.

He glared at me, which reminded me that mister perfect can read minds. This was only getting better.

He rushed over to Bella, who had left the truck again, on shaky legs.

"Are you alright," he asked her in a soft voice, and she leaned into him, as if she'd been waiting for him to comfort her. Sam gave me a warning look, so I kept myself from making any snide comments.

I just waited for Alice to come back outside the house and tell us what she knew.

"No news here," she said with a frown, "I can only confirm that this is an unfamiliar vampire, nobody we ever met. It's not Victoria but who else could be looking for Bella?"

She seemed to think hard, but no ideas came.

Alice then turned to Bella and asked "how did things look in your room?"

"It looked just like it always had."

"What?" Edward interjected with furious, "you went inside? Do you have _any_ idea how dangerous that is?"

"I… we didn't know," she started, and Edward slowly turned to face me.

"You let her enter a house with a clear vampire smell?" The anger was obvious on his face, and I couldn't blame him. I had been careless, and it could have gone very wrong.

I wasn't going to give in though, "the house always smells like vampires, ever since your family started polluting the air around here."

The dirty looks he gave me made me tremble with anger, but Bella grabbed my hand to keep me steady.

He didn't hear my words. What he did see was the image in my head I couldn't stop, of me and Bella stumbling through the house in a passionate embrace, going upstairs without paying any attention to possible smells, only caring about our deep and feverish kiss.

He cringed, and then his rage flared up even higher.

"Bella," he said, in a voice that was filled with restrained anger, "I told you that you aren't safe with him. He's a young and horny dog. There is no way he could protect you, why can't you see that?"

I felt defensive when he called me that, because over all, he was wrong. I could tell that Bella felt defensive too.

"He couldn't have known," she began to defend me.

"Of course he could," he spat accusingly, "there are fresh tracks circling the entire house, and all over the rooms."

He then aimed his rage towards me again, pointing his finger at my chest, "if she had been harmed, even the slightest bit, I swear I would have killed you."

A low growl escaped my throat, but before I could respond, a second car arrived and two male Cullens stepped out. The atmosphere cooled down immediately, and the tight grip of guilt and anxious emotions around my throat loosened up.

"Don't do that, Jasper" Edward hissed towards the lean one.

The vampire stepped closer and said with a pointed look "it's for your own good, Edward. If you hurt him, you'll hurt her too, and you do not want that."

Edward looked at Bella for a few seconds, and nodded, while he took two steps back.

"Thanks," Sam said quietly to the empath, and they shared a look of understanding. From what I'd seen in their memories, Sam and Jasper had been the ones to calm everybody down during Paul's fight with the bigger one as well.

Now that Edward had backed off, I pulled Bella closer to me again. Not only to show him that she was mine, but also to assure myself that she was okay, physically.

I knew I had messed up. Of course she would forgive me, but I would take a little longer to forgive myself.

When I was admitting these things in my head, Edward's posture didn't soften. He kept glaring at me, as if to make me finally realize I was no good for her and step aside.

"That would be great," I heard him mutter, and in my mind I replied "never."

He was called out of his silent conversation with me by a question from Jasper.

"Do you think it's one of them?"

Edward shrugged and said in a low voice "could be."

"One of who?" Sam asked in a demanding tone, "you are not sharing all your information."

Jasper and Edward gave each other a look, but before they could reach a conclusion, Emmett spilled the secret: "Victoria is making a newborn army in Seattle, and this vampire could be a newborn. He smells like human blood, lots of it, and his trail in the forest is very erratic. He must have been distracted a lot."

We were still letting the news about the newborn army sink in, when Emmett continued, "There's something odd about the trail, though. The vampire smell is accompanied by a faint human smell. And not just any human, it's Bella's. So whoever this is, took something from the room that smells like her."

Alice turned to Bella again "did you notice anything missing?"

Bella shook her head, and Edward huffed, while mumbling "stupid mutt didn't know anything."

Suddenly Bella's eyes grew wide, as if she just realized the consequence of what Emmett explained.

"Is she training an entire _army_ to come after me?" she stated matter-of-factly. Her eyes were on the vampires, because clearly they had some vital information that they had chosen not to share.

No answer came.

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><p><em>AN: Please let me know what you think. <em>


	16. Chapter 16 Truce

**Chapter 16: Truce**

_What happened before: "Is she training an entire army to kill me?" Bella stated matter-of-factly. Her eyes were on the vampires, because clearly they had some vital information that they had chosen not to share. _

_No answer came._

Edward spoke up first: "We should get Bella inside in case Charlie shows up, and move this discussion to another place."

I got angry and shouted "stop treating me like a child, if there's an army after me, you better well tell me right now. I have the right to know that kind of stuff!" I immediately regretted my outburst when I saw him flinch and look at me with that familiar pain. I knew he only wanted to protect me.

I looked at Alice and said in a softer tone "is he on his way?"

She shook her head, and I concluded, "I'm staying. Now tell us what you know."

"Not much," Jasper explained in a soothing voice. "We know there are many newborns on the loose in Seattle, causing all those killings lately. And we know that Victoria is still after you, so it's just a theory. We also know she is aware of Alice's gift, because we clearly were warned last time she paid us a visit. She might have sent one of the others, so that we wouldn't see them coming."

"But why didn't he wait for Bella, if they're after her, why did he take some stuff and left?" Jacob asked, more to himself than to the vampires.

I responded "because Victoria wants to kill me herself…" As soon as I said the words, I knew they were true. A shiver ran down my spine and Jacob pulled me a little closer to him.

I looked at Jasper and Edward, and they nodded.

"Possibly," Edward spoke, "we think that she might be creating this army to break through the protection of the wolves and the vampires, and then…" he trailed off.

I had heard enough. The entire town was in danger because of me. And because my friends wanted to protect me innocent people in Seattle were already dying.

"I'm leaving," I said. "I'll go back to live with my mother, I'm not putting any more lives at risk."

Jacob pulled me closer still. I didn't want to go anywhere, there was no place on earth I'd rather be than here, but I had no choice.

"No," Edward said, and I saw a pleading look on his face, much like Jacob's.

"She'll find you," Jasper stated. You won't be safe anywhere until we finish her off. Right here, with all of us, you're as safe as you can be." He gestured towards the wolves and the vampires combined.

A new car arrived; Carlisle and Esme stepped out. I was beginning to wonder how we would all disappear if Charlie returned home, but then remembered that Alice would warn us well ahead.

Emmett quickly informed Carlisle about everything, before they joined us.

I noticed with relief that there was less hostility between the wolves and the vampires; everybody was worried about this more pressing matter. But maybe Jasper's presence had something to do with that.

"I can't believe all these people died because of me," I muttered.

"Not because of you," Sam reassured me, "she makes her own choices and there's no-one to blame but that filthy bl…" he didn't continue and took a deep breath.

"We need a new plan," Carlisle said, taking control of the situation. "We can't afford to get into fights like we did last time." He looked at Emmett, who shrugged apologetically. Carlisle continued, "We could have caught her right there, if it wasn't for the feud between wolves and vampires. She used it against us and it made us weak."

Both sides nodded in shameful agreement.

Suddenly Alice spoke up, "he's on his way, will be here in ten minutes."

I wanted to hear more of the discussion, of the new plan, but they all started walking towards their cars and agreed to meet at the border line. The house was safe and Emmett would stay around to guard the area.

Jacob took me to my room, and apologized again for not being more careful.

"It's my fault as well," I said, giving him a meaningful smile.

He smiled back at me sadly, and kissed me softly on the lips. There was nothing left of the fire that was consuming us only an hour ago. How quickly things can change.

"Thanks for being so… calm, around them." I said.

"I wasn't," he admitted, "it was all Jasper."

I nodded, "still, I think Carlisle is right, we're all stronger if we stop being occupied by hating each other."

"I know he's right, but it's difficult. They're so god damn self-righteous, and superior. How can they know things like that, like an army threatening our town, and not tell us about this? Or even tell you? It's outrageous."

His fists balled as he was pacing up and down the room.

"They only want to protect me," I objected weakly. I understood though, how this would annoy him. It annoyed me as well, but I didn't want to encourage his anger.

"You're safer if we are aware of the dangers," he stated, and I had no come-back to that. He was right. I walked over to him, to give him a reassuring hug. I wish I had Jasper's gift, it could come in handy. I reached up to place my hand on his cheek and it looked so small there. At last his eyes stopped darting around and rested on mine.

"I'm just scared, Bella, I don't want to lose you."

He picked me up in one of his bear hugs and kissed me hard on the lips. I was overwhelmed with affection for this strong wolf who wasn't too proud to share his worries and insecurities with me.

"You won't," I whispered against his neck.

He sighed and after another sweet kiss, he reluctantly let go of me.

As soon as he left, the realization hit me that someone had entered my room and gone through my stuff. I felt a strange unease, even though they assured me that the visitor was long gone. I checked my dresser to find that several articles of clothing, such as my favorite blue shirt, were missing. When I finally calmed down enough to get into bed, I noticed my pillow was gone as well.

I must have fallen asleep at some point during my pondering, because I woke to the sound of my cell phone ringing.

"Hey Jake," I groaned, as I tried to remember what had happened before I fell asleep.

"Hi Bells, I wanted to come over after our meeting, to explain everything we discussed, but I'm scheduled to patrol. So I'm calling to tell you that Edward is on his way to tell you all you want to know."

"Is everything all right?" I asked, wondering if there had been any more fights between my friends.

"Yeah, we're all okay, how are you?"

"I was sleeping, so…" I was startled by a light tap on my window. The window was open already, because my room tended to heat up a lot during these summer days, but Edward hadn't entered yet.

"He's here," I said.

"Oh, right, I have to get going anyway, you can call me anytime; I'm carrying my cell with me."

"Be safe," I said. I didn't want to hang up. It must be hard for Jacob to be on duty knowing Edward was in my room. But if he had any trouble with it, he didn't show it.

"Always," he replied, and then he was gone.

Instantly, Edward was next to me on the bed. I sat up slightly against the headboard, pulling my blanket closer. There was a time that I didn't think twice about him seeing me in my PJs, but those times were past. He didn't look at me though.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he started.

"Huh?" I asked, still too sleepy to understand what he meant exactly.

"For not telling you sooner what our theory was, and for bursting out… to your boyfriend."

It was obvious that he had trouble calling Jacob that, and still didn't look at me.

"I understand," I comforted him, "what's the plan now?"

He was thankful that I changed the subject. "Some sort of truce, I suppose."

I nodded, and he continued his story.

"The two wolves came back after tracking and told us the trace led all the way to Seattle, so unfortunately our theory seems more plausible. For the time being, we decided to leave our differences behind. I mean, the treaty is still on, but for now, the boundaries are gone, so that she won't escape that way anymore. And we arranged that one wolf and one vampire will be covering this area around your house at all times. In case something would happen, both families can show up."

"All the time?" I asked incredulously. I immediately felt guilty again for the trouble they went through.

"Yes all the time," and as if he read my mind, he added, "it's not just for you. We would all feel better if Victoria was caught and if the newborns are in check. But obviously we all care about you too, enough to want you to be safe."

"Poor wolves," I said, "they need their sleep, who's outside now?"

"Leah is. I'll join her later," he said.

"She must be so pissed," I murmured.

"No she wasn't. In fact, she was happy to be of service and be treated like a full member of the pack."

"Oh," I trailed off. She would never show these feelings, but I guess a mind reader finds all secrets.

"So that was all then?"

"Pretty much, yes. We exchanged numbers to be able to alert each other, and we promised to inform them on every theory we have and on Alice' visions, if they are relevant."

"Sounds fair enough", I said.

"Hmm," Edward nodded.

I thought these were all good plans, and even though I should feel really bad after all these events, I still couldn't deny that I was also pleased that my friends were finally getting along somewhat. It's a shame that something like this needed to happen first. I hoped that maybe they would find some respect for the other group when this was over.

Edward still looked deep in thought, brooding over something.

"You don't look confident," I started, "you think she'll succeed?"

"No," he replied immediately, "you'll be safe."

"I understand if you're worried, there's an army…"

He interrupted me, "it's a newborn army. She doesn't know the first thing about newborns, and they are clearly already out of control. Then there's always Jasper. Before he came to us, he trained a newborn army for decades, and killed thousands of them. You could call him the newborn expert."

"But if she used them, Alice her gift will be useless."

"It's useless anyway now the wolves are involved. We're going have to rely on our own strength and our other gifts; we have the experience, the mind reading, and the empathic gifts. I'm confident that she doesn't stand a chance."

He looked at me, to emphasize his words.

"Then what is it?" I asked worriedly, when I still recognized that pain in his eyes. He averted them, sighed deeply and said, "it's nothing."

"Edward…" I reached out and placed my hand on his cold arm.

If there was anything else worrying him, I wanted to know, I didn't want any more secrets.

"It's not easy, being around him..."

"Around who?" I asked, still not understanding what he meant.

"Jacob. I can read his mind, you know? And I get that this could be fun for your regular mind reader, he's a cheerful and optimistic guy. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I actually get what you see in him, he's nothing like me. But for me, on days like this, looking in on his mind is pure agony."

"Oh," I said, suddenly understanding. I didn't know what he had seen, and I didn't plan on asking, but I was pretty sure it was hard for Jacob to keep our afternoon on his bed out of his head. It had been difficult for me as well.

"Did he… I mean, was he mean?"

I remembered the time where Jacob called out a memory that would torture Edward, just for the sake of making him suffer.

"No. No, he was perfectly nice. He tried not to think of … things. But he failed. A lot."

"I'm sorry," I muttered, knowing very well that I was to blame for all he saw as well. I can't imagine what it must be like to witness the one I love loving someone else.

"Can I ask you something?" he said without looking up.

"Sure," I replied apprehensively.

"You can tell me if it's none of my business…" he hesitated, "but last night… were you two going to…?"

He didn't continue, but I realize what he must have seen in Jacob's mind, and what it must have looked like.

"I honestly don't know," I said, and it was the truth.

"Did you… want to?" He studied his hands as if he's never seen them before.

"I think so," I whispered. I know he had asked me to wait, and at that time, I thought his request wasn't really relevant 'cause me and Jake were only just starting to date. And I didn't plan on losing my virginity soon, but I couldn't help how I felt.

He took another deep breath and stayed silent.

"Sorry," I added.

"Don't be sorry for feeling what you feel," he said firmly.

"I'm not apologizing for what I feel. I'm apologizing for the way it makes _you_ feel. I'm sorry you had to see those things. I never ever want to hurt you…"

He looked up at me and smiled sadly, "I know. Can I ask you something else?"

"Yes."

"If you do… I mean, when you do… would you tell me?"

"Do you want me to?" I couldn't really see myself sharing such intimate details with him. The thought alone made me blush in unease.

"Yes. I'm going to find out anyway, and I'd rather hear it from you than see it in his mind."

I nodded understandingly, and he leaned closer to hold me. I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight. I didn't look forward to that talk, but if it was what he needed, I would respect his wish.

"I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable, Bella, these should be private things," he whispered in my hair.

"It's not your fault," I murmured against his chest. A yawn escaped and he was suddenly reminded of the time again.

He let go of me, and said "sleep now, Love."

My heartbeat sped up involuntary at these words and the affectionate sound of his voice.

He smiled sweetly, and was out the window before I could reply.

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><p><em>AN: I know some of you don't like where this story might be going. Still I'd like to know all your thoughts, good and bad. So please speak up. <em>


	17. Chapter 17 Tease

**Chapter 17: Tease**

* * *

><p>The weeks went by without any incidents between wolves and vampires. Unfortunately it also went by without any action between Bella and me as well. Our alone time was cut down greatly by her approaching finals and by my patrolling schedule. Between patrolling and sleeping, there wasn't much time left to spend with her. And if there was, she was either at school or in her room studying.<p>

I kept her company some evenings, but she wouldn't allow me to go crazy like we did in my room last week. One or two times, when we were kissing passionately, I managed to slip my hand inside her shorts, and I got her to moan. But she stopped me before it could get much further. And whenever she kissed me, she would brush her hand across my pants, but that's it. It was like she needed to know if I was hard for her, which I always was, but then she didn't continue.

"Tease," I called her one time when she took her hand off my pants and broke the kiss again.

She looked a little insulted, and guilty as well.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to do this to you, but I don't want to go any further with vampires just outside, with their perfect hearing and all."

"They're not right outside your window, you know, they're in the forest tracking scents."

"Still, you never know when they are within hearing distance."

I sighed and released her.

"Is this about the vampires in general, or about one particular one?"

She didn't look guilty or busted, which is a good sign I guess.

"It's mostly about him, yes. For one, I don't want to hurt him any more than necessary. And two, would you be comfortable, kissing me and watching me when he could be inside your mind this moment? Because he could be."

I hadn't thought of it that way—that I could be sharing a moment that is supposed to be just for me and Bella.

"I don't think he would enjoy the show enough to stick around." I replied sarcastically. I knew she was right, this was just my frustration speaking.

She grimaced, and I knew I shouldn't push my luck. She didn't want to hurt him and that was that. I had to respect it and be patient. After finals, she'd have more time to come over to La Push again.

There was another thing that bothered me but I didn't complain to her. I didn't say anything, though I noticed his scent was clear enough and it was everywhere. Every day.

It started last week, when he informed her about our decision to cooperate. He must have liked being in her room for a goodnight hug, because since then he found a new reason every damn day to give her a quick visit before bedtime.

Like, one time he was worried because he smelled blood in her house. She had cut her finger while preparing dinner and her bloodsucking hero just _had_ to make sure she was okay. Other nights, he needed to inform her on the new developments between the pack and the vampires.

One morning I drove to her house right after patrolling to drive her to school, eager to tell her that we'd soon be getting combat lessons from Jasper, and she already knew the entire story. When I muttered that he could have called, she simply shrugged and said he was nearby anyway.

Apparently he was on night duty around her house every night, and he can afford it of course, 'cause those damn bloodsuckers don't need the sleep.

And, I knew he didn't just stand by her window to talk to her. Whenever we met, she was freshly showered, and whenever I showed up unexpectedly, she smelled of him. All over.

I never saw him as the friendly hugger, so I was extremely on edge about this whole new development. I even suspected him to do it on purpose to keep me in check. I still wanted her like crazy, but that smell around her room and in her hair was greatly discouraging my raging hormones.

The pack was on edge about it, too. I couldn't keep my worries out of my mind, and all but Leah told me I should do something about it. They worried that he was wiggling his way into her heart again, and if I didn't stop it, he'd make a move and she'd be lost.

I explained to them that I had no power to stop him. I wasn't going to be the controlling or jealous boyfriend Edward had been. The time I spent being friends with her taught me a lot about how she likes to be treated. I wouldn't do myself any favors if I tried to keep her from seeing him. And as long as Bella's intentions were still pure, I would trust her.

I knew she was innocent. She always told me about the visits in a casual way. She wasn't hiding anything from me, or feeling guilty. All her guilt was reserved for him, the one who returned home too late, the one who had to witness her with me.

I didn't want to plant the seed in her mind that their interactions could be more than just friendly. Some wolves agreed with this reasoning, and they generally admired my patience in following through. I guess they forgot that I had already dealt with this bloodsucker for a year now, even when he was absent. The difference was that the girl was now mine; she told me she loved me and I was the one who got to kiss her. As long as I had that, I could have all the patience that was needed.

Today, my waiting was rewarded a little bit. We finally had some alone time again. Her finals still weren't over, but she was ahead of her work schedule and she could take Sunday off. The other wolves and I had our first training session from Jasper, and she wouldn't miss it. Edward, of course, visited her room last night to argue with her, telling her that it would be too dangerous. He should have known better that by saying that, she'd be even more determined to show up; to see for herself that we were all safe.

I was looking forward to it myself, but even more to the two hours we'd have before the meeting. I tried not to get my hopes up. I knew very well that the guilt she felt towards him would not allow us to go too far, espeically just hours before he would be in my head witnessing my fresh memories. But I would be happy just holding her in my arms for a while. Honestly.

When I arrived at her house, she jumped into my car and the smile on her face warmed me up completely. She had been looking forward to this as well. She chatted cheerfully while I drove home, and when we got there, she walked straight to my room.

As soon as the door was closed, she pulled me onto the bed and pushed me on my back. I was very willing to oblige. I gained enough control to keep myself from attacking her lips, and I let her set the pace. She lay down next to me and kissed my lips softly. I sighed happily when her tender kisses made my heart flip and her hands in my hair made me shiver.

"I missed this so much," she whispered, and it was all I needed to hear-that she felt the same way I did.

"Me too, Bella. Let's forget about finals, move in with me."

She chuckled and kissed me again, a little deeper this time. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me, and her hands moved through my hair and down over my neck to my shoulders. I hummed in contentment, before I turned her on her back and started kissing her all over her face and down her neck.

Her teasing hands moved down again, over my abs, straight to my pants. Both our movements stopped when she felt me and my breath hitched. But I bit and nudged her neck again a little harder when her hand rubbed me gently through the fabric.

After a few minutes of her driving me crazy, she pulled her hand back again. I buried my face in her neck, panting, and tried to hide my frustration. I knew better than to get my hopes up, but she was making this very hard for me—literally.

When I looked back up at her, I saw the guilt on her face and I suddenly felt like a terrible boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, Bella," I said, my breathing even again.

"Why?" she looked surprised.

"For feeling the way I do. I'm not usually like this, I promise. I respect you."

"Of course you do," she smiled, "nobody said you didn't. What makes you say that?"

"Doesn't it bother you? That I like, want you all the time? It's like I can't think of anything else and that's not true. I swear I didn't expect…"

She interrupted me. "No. It doesn't bother me. Not at all, actually," she admitted, "in fact, I think I like it."

"You like it?" I repeated with a mix of relief and excitement.

"It makes me feel confident, that you get turned on whenever we kiss. I feel… sexy. I sound like a massive tease now, don't I?" she groaned.

"Yes," I chuckled, "and you feel like a tease too, but that's okay, I understand, as long as you like it."

"I don't mean to tease," she explained, "I do want more. I think about it a lot."

"You do?" It was a comfort to me that I wasn't he only one.

"You have no idea," she smiled mysteriously while she kept playing with my hair.

"Tell me."

"Let's say I could have been more ahead of my studying schedule if I hadn't spent so much time daydreaming."

"Daydreaming about what?" I asked her smiling. I wanted to know everything about this now.

"Mostly about being with you, holding you, kissing you, and maybe doing some naughty things too."

"Naughty things? Like what?" I wasn't going to let go of this, and I enjoyed her cheeks getting all red.

"I think you can imagine," she avoided eye contact and studied her hands in her lap.

"Yes, of course I can imagine, but I like you to say it," I continued with a teasing voice while I slowly licked from her collarbone to her neck, allowing myself to get lost in her. She tasted so sweet to me, I couldn't wait to explore the rest of her body.

She took a deep breath, "I daydream about that day we spent right here on the bed. And about how I wanted to make you feel the same way."

Hearing her say this turned me on again. "Go on," I whispered, while I kept kissing her and gently nip her earlobe.

She whispered, "I dream about making love to you."

I closed my eyes and breathed in her ear "do you want to?"

"Yes," she sighed.

What was she doing to me? I grew even harder in my pants without her touching me. My belly tightened and my blood rushed through my veins.

"God, Bella, me too", I groaned.

Involuntarily, I pushed my hips against her, and she pushed back with that same frustration in her movements. Somehow that comforted me.

She pulled away from me again and looked me in the eyes.

"I didn't mean to…" she started, but I cut her off, "it's okay. I honestly wasn't expecting anything today."

"You weren't?"

"Believe it or not, but I don't want him inside my head when we decide to go further."

"Right," she nodded, obviously relieved that I understood, "thank you."

Suddenly we were both startled by a loud howl coming from outside the house.

"Damn, I thought we'd have more time," I muttered. Reluctantly, I pulled myself away from her. My heart ached in protest, and so did another body part.

"Probably for the best," she grinned. She kissed me chastely one last time before following me downstairs.

"You're gonna have to travel on my back," I informed her. "We picked a secluded spot for the training, so that nobody would hear or check up on us. We could walk but it would take ages."

"That's okay," she simply said. I already knew she wasn't easy to scare.

She walked with me to the forest behind the house and then stood waiting for me to phase.

Still facing her, I slowly lowered my pants with a smirk. Apparently she had forgotten about that part, because she quickly turned around, which I found totally cute. After I phased, I nudged her and lowered myself.

"You could have warned me," she muttered, but then stopped pouting and got on my back. She lay down and waved her fingers though my fur, holding on tight, and I started to run.

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><p><em>AN: So they're both teases. But I have a feeling you like it, right? ;-)<em>


	18. Chapter 18 Instructions

**Chapter 18: Instruction**

Jacob and I arrived just in time to see Alice and Jasper enter the clearing. Edward and Carlisle were already standing there waiting for us. One by one, the wolves showed up, and phased. This time I was smart enough to avert my eyes before catching glimpses of private parts.

When Esme arrived, she came to stand by me. I didn't want to miss anything, but she persuaded me to step away from the clearing, so that I would be at a safer distance. I was afraid there would be hostility between both groups, but everything seemed to work smoothly. Sam and Carlisle were each in charge of their own family.

Jasper was the patient teacher, explaining all he knew about newborns. Wolves and vampires would have to be strategic in this fight, as newborns are much stronger than vegetarians, but they are also predictable; slaves to their instinct. They attack without thinking, going for the throat, so it would be easy to ambush them from the side, as long as they came one by one. This wouldn't be the case, so everybody would have to be extremely alert.

Edward was the translator between the vampires and the wolf mind, so that the wolves didn't have to phase back every time they wanted to speak up or ask a question. I took my eyes off my russet wolf now and then to check the expression on Edward's face. A while ago he admitted to me that it was hard to be around Jake, seeing things in his mind that he didn't want to see. But now Edward seemed at ease, so Jacob must have been focused on Jasper's instructions. Jake stayed near the rear, so he didn't have to interact with Edward personally.

When most of the instruction was done, they paired up and kept practicing surprise attacks on each other. Jasper walked around the area and he looked pleased with the progress they were making. I'd never seen him this relaxed and confident, nothing like the man who had tried to attack me at my birthday party. In fact, he almost looked cheerful, and it made me smile.

"What are you thinking", a sweet voice suddenly said behind me. I spun around and saw Edward standing next to me, watching me intently.

"I apologize if I startled you," he said, "I came to check up on you, expecting you to be absolutely horrified. And here I find you looking at the fight scene with admiration."

"I was thinking about Jasper," I explained, "I've never seen him so at ease."

Edward nodded, "he is fantastic at this. I can see why Maria wished to keep him to train her army. I think you haven't seen much of the Jasper we know, the charming one, since he's always on edge around you."

"That must be difficult for him," I murmured.

"Not really," he shrugged, "we all have our own trials. Thirst is just one of them."

I looked up at him worriedly.

"Are you okay?"

He paused and then answered, "Yes. No matter how difficult this is, I am significantly better than I was last year, when we were apart. I have you back in my life, and I am grateful that you were willing to still be my friend. You have no idea what this means to me."

I smiled, happy that this friendship thing was working after all. He had told me at first that we would never be able to succeed, but now we seemed to be doing just fine. I wasn't tempted so much anymore-the dazzling was wearing off. I could swear he was starting to accept my relationship with Jacob.

"You mean a lot to me too," I replied. And he pulled me close for a hug. He had turned into quite the hugger lately, which made me happy as well, because it meant that he was in control of his bloodlust. Before he left, he always seemed so… restrained. And now he had no problem with holding me, which was great.

When he released me, I looked over at the battle field, and I was surprised to see human Jacob standing off in the distance. Human and dressed, completely still, his eyes were on me. He didn't look pleased with the hug he just witnessed and as soon as he saw me, he walked towards me. Or, rather marched.

Edward turned rigid, and sighed, annoyed.

When Jacob reached me, I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't anticipate what I got. He picked me up, grabbed both my legs and hitched them around his hips. He pushed me against the tree, probably a little harder than he intended to, and kissed me angrily.

With Edward so close, I should have calmed him down. I should have apologized for my display of… affection right in front of him. But, I had to admit that Jacob's dominant behavior was turning me on. I never thought I'd be that kind of girl. Maybe we had let this frustration run for a bit too long and that's why I failed push him away.

It wouldn't have been fair anyway, to allow Edward to hug me and not allow Jacob to kiss me. I was his girl after all. And I let him know that. My arms went around his back, my fingers threaded in his hair, and my lips kissed him with the same fire that his kissed me.

Jacob pressed me a little harder against the tree, but I didn't let go despite the pain from the pressure. I could feel his body, which was clearly responding to the kiss, so close to mine, and I almost forgot where I was.

"You're hurting her," an annoyed voice said beside me. The kiss broke and Jacob growled "I don't hear her complaining."

"She wouldn't," Edward continued, "because she feels guilty…" he searched for just a moment, about her feelings for someone else."

At that Jacob lowered me to the ground again, and stepped closer to Edward.

"You're right, she _does_ feel guilty, but not towards me," he hissed, "and not about what she feels. She feels guilty towards _you_, for what she doesn't feel," his voice turned icy, "what you want her to feel." He spat out the words with an anger that surprised me.

Edward didn't respond and Jacob continued "Look at her." He gestured towards me, "This isn't a girl who is letting me have my way out of pity. She _wants_ this," his eyes narrowed, "and you know it."

At this Edward spoke, in a strangely calm voice, "all I see is a girl who is embarrassed by her boyfriend being a jerk to her friend. That is what I see. There is no reason for your little display here. you are proving, again, that you are not in control of yourself."

Jacob started to quiver and I pulled on his arm to snap him out of it. That wasn't the best move, because Edward continued.

"You see? She's not worried about my control, she's worried about yours."

Jake growled, "did it ever occur to you that your excellent control is what she hated about you? She might be worried, but she's not embarrassed by me. Because let me tell you something new: this girl is just as fierce and passionate as I am."

"Don't confuse passionate with irritable," Edward replied, cool as ever.

On top of the rage against Edward and his arrogant tone that was building up inside me, I was in agony, wondering whether I should intervene or not. I didn't want either of them to think I didn't trust them, but they were getting out of control and their behavior was hurting me. I looked over at Jasper and Sam, who were sparring, so no help would come from that direction.

Finally I made a decision. I let go of Jacob's arm and walked away from both of them without looking back.

"Bella?" Jacob called.

I turned around, "right now, I don't like either one of you," I said simply. "I'm going home." I turned back around and continued walking. I was actually on Jacob's side. He was out of line, but he had been pretty much right about everything he said. Still, I knew things were hard for Edward and he was already being so tolerant.

"Bella, don't be ridiculous," Edward was with me in an instant, "you cannot walk back. Let me carry you."

A loud growl came from behind us now, "don't. Touch. Her." Jacob's voice quivered, but I kept walking. I wasn't going to stay witness this. I ignored Edward, too. Jacob must have noticed because he continued in a calmer voice, "let her go, Edward. You should really learn to give her space when she needs it. Someone else can carry her."

Esme, who'd been very quiet, was grateful for the chance to step in. "Gladly," she said. She had wanted to take me away from this whole war scene and I know how she hates fighting. Without any effort, she picked me up and I thankfully wrapped my arms around her neck. She started running and I could only hope that both men in my life found the strength to overcome their differences.

"I'm sorry," I muttered in her hair.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, Bella. You can't make everybody happy and the way they deal with things is completely up to them. I'll have a word with Edward later."

"No, please, don't, he's having a hard time already."

"I know, but that's no excuse," she said.

Hearing her confirm that Edward was struggling didn't help. I had hoped that this new kind of alliance that existed between wolves and vampires would bring them closer together, but now I was letting go of that hope. Maybe the friendship wasn't working so well after all.

* * *

><p><em>AN: I know some of you team Jacob readers must really hate Edward in this chapter. But please keep in mind that the Eclipse-Jacob was just as arrogant as Edward is in this story. It's a pose to hide their insecurity, because they are afraid they are losing her for good. So please forgive him and be kind. <em>


	19. Chapter 19 Graduation

**Chapter 19: Graduation**

I was going through my wardrobe, trying to find a decent outfit that still fit my oversized body. Even after phasing, I continued to change, so I had completely outgrown the suit I wore at Harry's funeral. It was the only suit I owned, which annoyed me because I wanted to look presentable today. Bella's finals were over at last, so we'd have more time together as soon as this graduation day was over. Alone time that is.

All we had to do was get through the day and after that, we would get many chances to do everything we had been dreaming of for weeks. I scolded myself for getting caught up in my naughty thoughts again, as if I really was a horny teenage dog. But since she clearly felt the same way, I guessed that made it okay.

Alice had told me last week she was throwing Bella a party, and the wolves would be invited. I know Bella hates parties, but she agreed anyway, if only to please Alice.

There was a possibility that her hope for Edward and me to become friends had something to do with it. I promised her that this wasn't going to happen. Not as long as he kept visiting her at night, to make sure he was the last thing she saw before she went to sleep. I suspected she needed those little conversations, to make sure her friend was okay, but I felt like this was out of control and going no place good.

Eventually, after discarding all the clothes I had outgrown or that were covered in grease from my garage, I decided to go for a simple jeans and a dress shirt. Because of this whole dress up show, I had to rush if I didn't want to be late. Charlie insisted on driving Bella to Forks High School and then afterwards to the Cullen mansion. After promising him several times I would not drink, he trusted me to bring her home safely again. Since the school parking lot would be overcrowded, we agreed to ride my motorcycle. She had missed that machine, and I had missed har arms around me while feeling that freedom.

I hurried to my garage and kicked my motorcycle in gear, before speeding up to Forks High.

On the way there however, I had an unexpected meeting. Someone was waiting for me at the treaty line, leaning casually against his silver Volvo. Apprehensively, I slowed down and came to a stop at a fair distance from him. Wondering what information he could have for me that couldn't be shared over the phone. I removed my helmet and eyed him curiously, while he still seemed completely relaxed.

"I needed to meet you here, before the ceremony, to apologize, Jacob," he said in a calm and polite voice.

"For what?" I huffed, refusing to play along in this stupid show. "For having your hands on my girlfriend every day, or for upsetting her last week?"

"As I recall, you were the one who…" he stopped and held up his hands. "This is exactly the kind of thing that upsets her. She wants us to get along."

"That's never gonna happen." I grumbled. Was this some new trick from him? To get on her good side?

"I know that," he agreed, "but she does not. It is important to her."

"Right," I nodded, "so you apologized, and I accepted, she can be proud of us. End of story."

I got ready to put my helmet back on but he spoke again.

"No. It is not enough. I need you to behave at the graduation ceremony and at the party tonight as well."

"You need me to _behave_?" I repeated back to him while raising my eyebrows.

He continued in a condescending tone, which made me feel like I was in kindergarten again.

"This day is about her. Let's not make it about you." I could tell that he was getting annoyed: he was no longer leaning against the car but stood up straight, all rigid. He wasn't the only one.

"I have no intention of making anything about me. I've been pretty dang pleasant about you visiting her room every night, so you shouldn't push your luck." I spat.

He laughed out loud, and muttered wryly "you can't push what you don't have."

I actually couldn't believe he had the nerve to come up here and ask me to behave, as if he was the one in charge. I had had enough of him and his superior attitude. I wanted him with his feet planted firmly on the ground, so I said "she's getting over you, you know. She told me how glad she was that you were finally accepting me and her together. That you were giving up on your silly hopes."

He grinned, "that's the whole idea, pup. Do you honestly think she would allow me near her if she knew exactly how I felt? She is just starting to trust me again, and every time you get upset, you are only doing me a favor. Her sympathy lies with me now. It's only a matter of time."

Quivers ran through me and I fought hard to keep myself from phasing.

"I could just ruin your plan by telling her about all this." I said in a shaky voice.

"Yes. You could. But she would not believe you and see you as the jealous one who is trying to keep her away from her friend. She does not like being pushed." His demeaning tone was still annoying the crap out of me. I was so close to lashing out at him for real, but I kept arguing instead.

"I know very well what she does and does not like. In more ways than you know."

At this he just huffed with a confident grin as if there was no way a "pup" like me could ever mean something to a girl like her.

I was aware that it was childish, but he was pushing my buttons beyond my limit. In some of my angry fantasies I have been dying to do this, to recall the memory of Bella in my arms, my fingers deep inside her, riding the waves of her orgasm and wipe that arrogant grin right off his face. So that's what I did.

His eyes widened in shock and he grimaced.

With a low snarl he said "keep those thoughts to yourself, Jacob! Have you got _no_ respect for what is private to her? How would _she_ feel if she knew you showed me this?"

My feelings of victory faded in a split second. He was right. Bella had given this intimate moment to me, and here I was, showing it around like a trophy. I was ashamed of myself.

He continued in a calmer voice, "I understand that you use all the weapons you can find, in your desperation to keep me away from her. But you will not succeed. I _will_ fight for her, and I will not fight fair. But at least I won't use her to get to you. You will find out soon enough that she is nowhere near over me."

Then, he disappeared and left me guilty and worried.

I was scared shitless that he was right. He was always so composed and he made some very good points. He seemed on top of the situation, not giving in at all. I had to step up my game, but with patrolling and actually needing to sleep, he definitely had the advantage over me. So there was no way on earth I could keep him away from her. I wanted to trust her; I did trust her, but his confidence just caught me off guard.

While I continued the ride to Forks High, all these thoughts were working their way through my mind, and it got even worse when I arrived at the ceremony. I noticed Bella in a deep blue dress, something Alice must have picked out for her, with Edward right beside her.

Just a few minutes ago, he had been wearing his regular outfit, but now he was all dressed up in an obviously expensive dark suit. All the girls gathered around the Cullens who had returned to Forks, but his eyes were only on Bella. He must have known that I had arrived, but he didn't look back. He simply put his hand on her waist, and guided her through the crowd, as if she was his.

And I was frozen on the sideline, feeling so out of place in my simple jeans on my old motorcycle.

As ifs she could feel my presence, she slowly turned around, and her eyes locked with mine. A beautiful smile came over her face, which alleviated my worries instantly. I let out a breath I had been holding since I noticed her. She left Edward behind, and made her way over to me. I could tell that she had trouble staying upright on her high heels, so I rushed over and caught her in my arms. What a silly idea to get my clumsy Bella to wear heels.

I fought the urge to check if Edward was watching us, knowing very well that he was indeed since he didn't seem to be capable of keeping his eyes off her. Instead I kissed her and she leaned in against my chest. While wiping some perfectly styled curls away from her face I noticed that she didn't feel as cool as she usually does.

"Bella, are you sick?" I asked worriedly.

"No, I'm fine," she lied, "I'm just exhausted from all Alice put me through today, with these clothes and the hair and the jewels." She gestured towards her curls and bracelet. "And the worst part is yet to come." She sighed.

"Don't worry about it," I replied, walking her towards the chairs on the field so that she could rest. "We can always leave the party early, if you're ill."

"I'm not," she said clearly annoyed with herself, "I just have a cold. It's ridiculous."

"Why is it ridiculous? Everybody gets colds now and then."

"Not in the middle of summer, how can I be sick now? I hate that I'm the only fragile one in between all my mythical friends," she muttered.

She did have a point. Getting ill is one of the human things I didn't miss. Around us, more and more excited students were looking for a place to sit, along with their families.

"I like that you're fragile," I whispered, while I softly nuzzled her neck and her collar bone.

She smiled sweetly and grabbed my hand.

The ceremony was about to start and Bella needed to go line up with the other graduates. After she got up and assured me she would be fine on her high heels, she whispered "I love you," and kissed me softly on the lips. While she was waiting, we never broke eye contact. It was clear that she'd rather be sitting next to me instead of standing there in the spotlight.

I quickly glanced around and saw the entire Cullen family stand near the back.

Now that Bella was showing them all she belonged with me, I didn't feel so out of place anymore.

All in all, the ceremony went smoothly. I tried to convince Bella to go home and rest, but she wouldn't hear any of it. She didn't want all her suffering to be in vain, and it was important to her friends. So she just took a painkiller and was courageous all through the party. Even though I didn't agree, I did admire her loyalty in this self-sacrifice.

I managed to avoid Edward. I planned to tell her soon about what I had shown him and apologize profoundly for it, so that he wouldn't be able to use it against me. I had messed up and I would try harder. She would forgive me.

She made her way through the party with style and elegance. The Cullens hovered around her after they found out through my mind that she was actually sick. I can't believe they didn't notice sooner with their perfect senses. Alice even apologized for making Bella go through all the hassle, but Bella just shrugged. She was happy with the present I got her, a wolf charm carved in wood. But obviously it couldn't compete to the expensive gifts they all bought for her.

I behaved so well that I even gave her some time alone with Edward, while I stepped outside for some fresh air. It was much needed after tolerating the vampire stench in there for hours.

But before I knew it, she came out looking for me, and she leaned against me sweetly as soon as she found me. All the worries I had after talking to Edward on the way here, vanished one by one. She was so completely mine, there was no mistaking that. I don't know why Edward had talked to me as if he had won her already. Maybe he wanted to make me doubt her. Or maybe he had just tried to provoke me into doing something stupid.

"Take me home," she murmured sleepily against my chest. I looked over at the house, wondering if it would be impolite to leave early.

Edward was standing at the door, watching us intently—of course. He had a pained expression on his face. Probably because it started to sink in how she belonged to me. She made no secret of that tonight.

He simply nodded at me and pointed at his car. I couldn't take her home on my bike, not when she was sick and sleepy. And I was thankful that he didn't suggest that he drive her. I laid her down on the narrow back seat of the Volvo, and she seemed to be dozing off already.

I walked back to the mansion where he held out his car key for me.

"Thanks," I muttered, and he simply nodded again, his eyes still on the car with an extremely worried look.

"It's just a cold," I said, "she'll be fine."

He looked up at me and then sighed. "It is not the cold I am concerned about. Alice saw something tonight," he said with a grimace when he remembered the vision. "Come back as soon as she is asleep, I will send someone to guard her house."

"Is it bad?" I asked frowning.

"Possibly. It's hard to tell. We will explain everything later and then we will make plans."

He looked as if he wanted to add something more, but then he went back inside.

I carefully drove Edward's fast car to her house, and carried a sleeping Bella inside.

Charlie was with me instantly, wondering what happened. No dad wants his daughter to come home after a party passed out. I reassured him that she was just tired. She hadn't had a single drink, because she was on painkillers. I asked him to keep a close eye on her, even though I knew he always did, and I carried Bella up to her bed. Without undressing her, I tucked her in and carefully removed the hairpins from her hair.

After kissing her goodnight, I raced the car back to the Cullen mansion to find out which vision had made Edward so anxious.

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><p><em>AN: Any readers out there who are willing to make a guess about the vision? Be my guest, I can't wait to find out your ideas :) <em>


	20. Chapter 20 Strategy

**Chapter 20: Strategy**

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><p>The next morning I felt a tiny bit better. Or so I tried to convince myself.<p>

When I woke up, I hardly remembered getting home after the graduation party. Charlie told me that Jacob had carried me upstairs. He had been a perfect gentleman: tucking me in without undressing me.

My muscles ached all over, probably from the flu, so I decided to take a long bath. Completely relaxed, I wrapped a towel around my wet body and entered my room, when I suddenly realized I wasn't alone. I staggered backwards, nearly tripping over my shoes by the door.

Two cold arms caught me easily and his voice uttered "I am so sorry, Bella, I wasn't thinking."

Only now Edward noticed that I wasn't fully dressed so he quickly planted me on my feet and stepped back. For a few seconds we stood there, uneasy, until he finally spoke, "I will give you a few minutes to get changed. Can we talk after that?"

He didn't usually show up in the morning; I wondered what was going on and where Jacob was. But since Edward seemed so tense, I just nodded. Without saying anything, he disappeared out the window and I was alone again.

I glanced outside the window to check the sky. It was clear blue, the sun was already burning. Hot summer days are rare out here, but oddly enough, this week had been all sunny and warm. Maybe that's why Edward was so tense; vampires are always on edge when the sun is out.

I threw on a tank top and shorts, and grabbed my phone from the night stand.

"Hey Bells," Jacob answered instantly, "how are you feeling?"

"I feel better, thanks," I lied. Then I added, "Edward is here," because I thought he should know that.

"Okay," Jacob replied to my surprise, "he'll tell you everything. I'll be with you around lunch. Do you have enough food around?"

"I… um… I don't know." I was still in shock that Jake would be okay with Edward being in my room in the morning. I knew he was getting annoyed with the late night visits and this seemed like another step closer. And what was it that Edward needed to tell me?

Whatever it was, it couldn't have been a terrible thing, if Jake remembered his appetite.

"All right, I'll drop by the store on my way and bring you lunch."

"Thanks," I said, still more curious than anything else, and hung up.

The second I leaned outside my window to let Edward know I was ready, he appeared right next to me.

He eyed me with worry, to make sure I was alright, and then asked "how are you feeling?"

I must have looked really bad yesterday if they were both so concerned with my health.

"I think I'm getting better," I answered, "my throat is still sore, but it'll pass."

I didn't want to dwell on my fragile health and needed him to tell me what Jacob was talking about.

For Edward, my answer wasn't enough; he refused to let this issue slide easily. Placing his cold hand on my forehand, he sighed, "Bella, you're not better, here, sit down."

He went to sit on my bed and patted the sheets next to him.

"I'm just warm from the hot weather," I objected, but I got on the bed anyway. I hated for him, or anyone, to see me this way. I thought I was hiding it well, but clearly I wasn't.

"I can't believe we let you get sick," he muttered under his breath.

I started losing my patience. "I'm human. It happens. I'll live." I said in an irritated voice. I was afraid that he would never tell me the news he had, if he decided I was in no state to deal with whatever it was.

He looked up at me with a pained expression, "I'm not used to this, Bella. Your vulnerability is one of the most important things in my existence. It still alarms me every day. You need to take better care of yourself. You have no idea how hard it was…"

He didn't finish his sentence and looked away from me.

"What?" I demanded, in a softer tone.

He paused for a second, and then continued "how hard it was to watch you suffer all night while not being able to take care of you."

"I wasn't suffering," I tried, but he interrupted me with a pointed look "you were on painkillers, tired, swaying on your feet, you needed someone to take care of you."

I wondered if he meant that Jacob hadn't done a good enough job. If that was his point, then I disagreed, because I believed Jacob had been absolutely perfect.

So I replied coldly, "I had someone taking care of me."

"Exactly," he stated, as if that was the whole point.

And I got it. Edward had wanted to be the one to carry me home and to look after me.

"You're here now," I comforted him with a reassuring smile, even though I didn't think I needed anybody since I was feeling better. Or maybe I was still lying to myself about my health.

"Can I get you something, anything?"

I wanted to show him that I wasn't as weak as he thought I was, so I suggested we take a walk outside, and he agreed since the trees around the house offered plenty of shade. I wasn't going to sneak out on Charlie, so he rang the door like a polite friend. I waited for Charlie to answer, and then I heard him walk up the stairs and knock on my door.

"Come in," I said, still sitting on my bed with a book on my lap.

"Edward is at the front door," Charlie explained, "he wants to know if you're better and if you're up for a walk. Shall I tell him that you're still resting?"

His tone made it clear that he'd want nothing more than to dismiss the Cullen boy and tell him his daughter is still not up and about.

"No, dad, that's fine. I'm feeling better. A little fresh air will do me good."

I got up from the bed and ignored his grumble as I walked past him. I also ignored the dizziness I felt after standing up too fast and almost stumbled down the stairs.

"Bella, I don't think…" Charlie tried, but I said "I'll be alright, just clumsy. I won't be far, Jacob is bringing lunch in a bit," before I shut the door behind me.

I quickly walked past Edward, who was standing in the shade of the front porch, to the forest before Edward could give me any more worried looks. Obviously everybody hates being sick, but when I'm around the vampires, I often feel like a complete failure by myself, even when I'm healthy. So now I definitely hated the way my body showed them how inadequate I am.

The cool morning breeze felt nice in my wet hair, it cooled me down and the fresh air filled my lungs. I slowly started to realize that graduation was done now, my high school career was all over, and I had a long and warm summer ahead of me. Something to look forward to if it wasn't for Victoria and her army.

Suddenly I remembered why we were out here and I roused him from his brooding by asking, "what news did you have for me?"

"I do not recall mentioning any news?" he looked surprised, at which I pointed at my cell in my pocket and said "Jacob did."

"Oh, right, I heard that conversation" he nodded, and I waited for his grimace to appear; the expression on his face that was solely reserved for thoughts about Jacob. But it never came.

And then he finally started his story.

"Alice had a vision last night, during the party. She saw that the army was headed towards Forks, this Saturday."

I gasped in horror and stopped walking. Great, now it appears that I wouldn't even have time to enjoy my summer after all.

He stood still beside me and continued "don't worry, Bella, we have been training for this, we will be ready. So right after Jacob drove you home, we held a meeting – both vampires and wolves – and we agreed on a war strategy."

I flinched when I heard the word war. I didn't want to imagine Jacob fighting these newborns, even though I've seen him fight Laurent in the past. This time would be different; I need him so much more now.

"What's the strategy?" I asked apprehensively, unsure if Edward would be willing to share this kind of information with me.

He reluctantly explained, with his eyes intently on mine searching for any sign of distress, "they're after your scent: Alice saw them appear with some of your clothes in their hands. We need to stop them before they reach your house. Charlie will be safe with Billy in LaPush. We plan to create a false trail with your scent leading towards the clearing. Both wolves and vampires will all be waiting there to ambush the newborns."

I could see the fight before my eyes, and I grimaced. Still I kept myself together, not willing to show him my doubts, so that he would continue to answer my questions.

"Will I stay with Charlie in La Push?"

"No," he said determined, "that won't be safe for you and it would lead the army straight to the reservation. We are going to hide you near the mountains. Jacob will carry you there on Friday. His werewolf stench should be enough to hide your trail." The expression on his face made it clear that he'd rather see the plan differently but that this must have been the only option.

"Will he stay up there with me?" I knew the answer before I asked the question.

"Yes, for the night, but on Saturday, he will join the others in the fight and Seth Clearwater will stay to keep watch."

I cringed, "I don't want Jake to fight," I whispered.

"You could ask him to stay with you," Edward said, "but I doubt that he would risk the life of his pack. He is second in command now, and I must admit that he is feeling rather responsible for the younger ones in the pack."

Again I was surprised at the new found sympathy in his tone when he spoke of Jacob.

"Will you be there with me?" I asked softly.

He looked me in the eyes for a long time, long enough to speed my heart up, just like it used to. I knew I wouldn't be able to reason with Jacob about this. Edward was totally right about that. But maybe I could keep at least one of them safely away from the battle.

He took my hands in his, and whispered "do you want me to stay with you?" His golden eyes burned in mine.

I knew very well it was wrong, making him feel this way, but I couldn't help it.

I nodded and a smile appeared on his beautiful face.

"Then I will stay," he stated.

Relief washed over me, even though I should be feeling guilty. A mind reader could be very helpful in the battle, was I risking lives by being selfish? Right now, both he and Jacob were my priority, so I tried not to hate myself for asking "do you promise?"

He placed both his hands on my cheeks and lowered himself to me. Then planted a soft kiss on my burning cheek and whispered, close enough so that I could smell his sweet scent, "I promise. I told you when I returned that I would never leave you again, and that promise still stands."

The intensity of the moment made me sway on my feet, and luckily he misread my feelings.

"You're still ill, Bella," he said accusingly, "let's get you inside."

With his arm around my waist, he started walking back to the house, and I let him guide me, still on shaky legs.

Inside, he led me to the kitchen, avoiding the living room where Charlie was watching game. Edward ordered me to sit down, and tried to heat up some milk for me. Using a microwave however isn't something they teach you in high school, not even when you graduate many times over and over, so he failed miserably and I got up to clean the spilt milk. I turned around to the fridge to fill a new cup, when he suddenly said "Jacob is here, I'll see you on Saturday."

Apparently their new found respect still didn't allow them to be in the same room together. I looked at him sadly. He quickly leaned down for a kiss on my forehead, smiled his sweet dazzling smile, and walked towards the front door. He was just in time to open it so that Jacob could enter with two shopping bags filled with food.

I walked over to help him bring all his stuff in, and as I did I heard Edward mutter "take good care of her," and Jacob replied "I will."

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><p><em>AN: I was amused to read your predictions about the story, some of them were really interesting! I understand that you are worried about Bella's illness. I suppose people in books rarely get sick ;) <em>

_I hope you still notice the parellels with the canon story I chose to keep and the ones I chose to change. I kept Bella's selfish need to keep both men away from the fight, and I kept the response of them both. _

_We're about to reach the action part of the story. Stay tuned :) _


	21. Chapter 21 Trails

**Chapter 21: Trails**

I arrived at Bella's place with my backpack, all dressed for a hiking.

Charlie eyed us suspiciously; he knows his daughter well enough to frown at this plan. We carefully avoided the subject of me and his daughter in a tent all night: he wasn't as easy-going as her mother had been during our stay-over in Florida. Luckily, I had been smart enough to bring two sleeping bags. I saw his eyes flash over them and his posture relaxed. After giving us some more advice, he just wished me good luck and I chuckled when he insisted I take a first aid kit with me.

I was a little worried about her cold that still wasn't over, if anything, it had gotten worse. But she assured me that she was fine. It's not like we had a choice anyway, the army was coming and she couldn't stay here. So she took another cold tablet and climbed into her truck bravely.

First we went to the clearing where she created some fake trails. She accidentally cut her legs a few times when she tripped, but she didn't want me to cover up the wounds, saying it would make the trail all the stronger for the newborns. They'd be distracted and easier targets. I just hoped the other vampires wouldn't be distracted by it, but I guess they were used to her scent by now.

After this, her job was done. I took care of her little cuts, making sure that every trace of her blood was washed away, and I carried her in my arms to a place far away from the clearing. She looked exhausted, as she lay against my chest. So small and fragile. I ran fast, but she never looked at the road. She trusted me completely and never took her eyes off my face. Her admiration for me was obvious, and it made me feel so much more powerful.

I set up the tent with a mattress, and offered her some food. She tried her best to eat, but I could tell that she was feeling ill and probably nervous as well. We didn't speak much; she mostly looked at me as if my presence alone calmed her.

When everything was cleaned up, all we could do was wait. Edward would come to us later tonight. He would let the trail cool down for a few hours, and then try to track her scent to our tent. If he succeeded easily, we might need another plan, but I was confident that this strategy would work.

As I was going through the details of our plan one last time, she suddenly interrupted me "come here with me." I looked sideways. She was lying down on the mattress, a sweet smile on her face.

"I'll relax if you try to relax as well," she convinced me. She scooched over and I lay down next to her. She placed her warm hand on my cheek and then closed the distance between us. She tried to kiss both our nerves away, and I had to admit that she was successful. In the way she kissed me, and the way she pressed her body against mine, there was no trace of any illness, and I was starting to lose myself.

"Bella," I finally managed to pull away from her, "shouldn't you rest? You're ill."

She groaned and rolled her eyes "please don't make me sleep. I've been in bed for three days and I feel worse when I get bored." Then her eyes lit up again and she continued, "You could distract me."

It was clear what kind of distraction she was talking about and a flutter in my stomach encouraged me.

Before I could object, talking about her health or the circumstances, her lips were on mine again. It was clear that she wasn't just looking for distraction, she was way too eager. I had no idea where this suddenly came from, but I loved it.

I was careful not to put my weight on her, but I kissed her back with the same passion, moving my attention from her lips to her neck and shoulders. Her warm hands felt hot on my skin when she slid them over my bare chest and back. I didn't take the effort to put on a shirt, as I prepared to shift again later, for which I was thankful now. I could feel her so much better, her body against mine. All that separated us was her thin top; I could feel all her curves and I was getting turned on. And not just a little bit.

Her tiny moans, her arms pulling me closer, her hot breath against my neck, and the way she hungrily pushed her body up against my hips, made me grow harder than I'd ever been before.

She noticed and without a warning, her hand slid inside my shorts, wrapping itself around my hard-on. There was no doubt to what she wanted, and she made it extra clear by whispering in my ear "I want you."

I gasped and stuttered, "we can't, not here."

"Why not?" she breathed, equally affected, and everything inside me screamed "yeah, why not?"

I was sure there were good reasons, somewhere, I just had a hard time focusing right now. I mean, she was sick, for starters, but then again, she wanted the distraction. She was the one starting it.

I tried to focus on the question: why not. But it got harder when her kisses made a trail from my shoulder to my collar bone and her hand gently squeezed me. My breathing became uneven.

There was a tiny voice that popped up with another answer to the question. In a few hours, Edward would be here. He'd be right in my head and he'd know everything. Was I willing to share the memory of our first time?

I didn't want to bring up that voice. Her fingertips were slowly rubbing my length, up and down, and Edward was the last thing I wanted on her mind. Or, on my mind for that matter. I shoved the voice away. We had waited so long, for his sake as well, we couldn't wait forever and he would have to deal with it later.

All my answers for 'why not?' melted away, and I gave into her.

My hand went around her neck and my lips found hers again to kiss her deeply. She moaned and clearly understood that I was agreeing. She wouldn't let me change my mind again. The fingers that had been stroking my sensitive skin now wrapped around my dick, and slid up and down the length, following the rhythm of our kisses.

"Bella," I gasped, "slow down, you're gonna make me explode."

"Maybe that is what I want," she grinned.

"Isn't there something else you want?" I asked, while I placed my hand over her hot center. She pushed herself against me and I grinned back at her.

I was prepared to see her get nervous and to pull back because it was too soon, but she did anything but that. She simply lifted her hips and pushed her shorts and panties down over her knees and then threw them aside. Before I could respond to her eager strip act, her tank top flew on top the shorts and she was pulling at my waist band to remove that last piece of fabric that separated us.

I was happy to help her, and we lay down again. Naked.

The rush faded when we looked into each other's eyes. We didn't see nerves, just resolution and love. We both realized what was about to happen, and we breathed in deeply.

"Are you sure?" I whispered.

She bit her lip and nodded. "I've been sure for a while now," she whispered back, and then she closed the distance.

Our kiss had a new kind of intimacy. It wasn't crazy or wild, it was slow and romantic. We were naked together for the first time, skin on skin. It felt so magical, so complete. Even if nothing else happened tonight, I would never forget this feeling. It was so unexpected, so pure. We didn't tease with our hands anymore; we just kissed and held each other tight. Our bodies were moving, relishing in the feel of each other's skin.

This is what it feels like to make love. Make love to my Bella.

My hips were rolling against hers, and she pushed back, never breaking the kiss. We were both so inexperienced, we didn't really know which move was expected next. We just went with what felt right.

At one point, she wrapped her legs around my hips, and I felt closer to her even. My cock now slid against her most sensitive skin and I could feel how wet she was. After teasing each other with hip movements for a long time, our kisses grew more urgent and our breaths heavier. The sliding and rubbing increased our pleasure, but it wasn't enough anymore.

At last, she slid her hand between our wet bodies, grabbed me and placed my tip against her entrance. My body understood, I pushed into her, sliding in easily, and remained still inside her as we both gasped, in surprise almost.

"Bella, you feel so warm," I breathed against her. She didn't reply.

The feeling of her warm flesh and the pressure she gave me urged me on to keep moving. My body wanted to push deeper, and harder, but I stayed still, waiting for her.

"Does it hurt?" I asked worriedly.

"A little," she admitted in a shaky voice. When I wanted to slide out again, she held me still. I looked her in the eyes, searching for signs that she was hurting more than she would let me believe, but all I saw was the same longing I felt.

At last, she moved her hips gently. I slid out of her again, and she hissed.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, but she hushed me with a short kiss. And then she moved closer to me again. I wanted to be so careful with her, but my body needed more and I pushed myself deep inside. Her gasp now sounded more like a moan, and I when looked at her, her eyes were closed and she was biting her lip again. That was a good sign.

I tried it once more, moving back gently, and then sliding in in one movement. Again a moan escaped her throat and I lost more of my self-control. I wanted to soothe all the pain, drown it into the pleasure she felt when I hit a spot inside her that made her shiver. Again and again, in and out, with each thrust, she moaned a little more. Her body started to take over from me.

We kissed greedily, and she squirmed against me. I tried to keep calm, I knew I would start pounding her if I let go, and it would be over too soon. Instead, I rolled onto my back and let her take full control. She didn't hesitate for one second and sat up straight, allowing me to admire her gorgeous flushed body.

She rubbed her center against me, moving back and forth, her nails digging into my chest. She looked so beautiful, her cheeks blushing and her eyes full of desire. Even though I kept still, she was driving me so crazy the tension in my body was building up.

I grabbed her hips and panted, "careful Bella, I'm nearly there."

"Good," she panted, with the most adoring smile, "let go, I need you to." She lay on my chest to kiss me in between our panting.

I wanted to let go, my body screamed for release, I felt the tension that had built up, not just tonight but over the past weeks as well. I wanted to burst inside her, but gathered all my determination and shook my head, "you first," I groaned. It wasn't easy to form a coherent thought. I couldn't keep her hips still, she squirmed and kept riding me, her naked chest against my chest and her sighs in my ear.

"No," she simply said, "I need you to surrender now."

Maybe she wasn't close, or maybe the pain was still there, somewhere. I don't know, I couldn't think anymore. And if she wanted me to surrender, I would.

I released my grip on her hips and pushed mine up so that I buried myself deep inside her. Her lips attacked mine again, and she sped up her movements.

"Oh God, Bella…" I moaned, my breathing unsteady, and heart racing.

She kept moaning as well. She might not be reaching an orgasm, but she was definitely experiencing pleasure. My climax was approaching fast now. The kiss broke because we both kept moaning. I focused on the sounds of her bliss, and then I grabbed her hips one last time pulling her down hard on me.

I pulsed and kept pulsing, giving her everything I had.

She collapsed on top of me, and I wrapped my arms around her sweaty body.

"How are you feeling," I muttered in between my panting. I was suddenly worried about her health again.

"Wonderful," she sighed happily, and I smiled. We stayed like this for the longest time.

When I went soft again, I slid out of her, but we both stayed in place. Both our hearts returned to their steady pace.

"Are you sore?" I asked after a while, and I kissed her temple.

"A little," she admitted, which made me feel guilty for giving in harder than I should have.

I slid my body from under her and told her to rest while I cleaned us both up and helped her get dressed. Her fever was rising again, and I tried not to feel too guilty for what we just did when she was clearly still sick.

I lay down beside her. We talked little bits, mostly me asking her if she needed something and her reassuring me she was fine, while I wiped her sweaty hair from her face. I looked for something cool to ease her fever, but I didn't find anything and I didn't want to waste the water that she was meant to drink.

"As soon as Edward gets here," I informed her, "I going to ask him to go down the river and wet these towels so that we can cool you down."

She nodded and then suddenly seemed to realize something.

"Shit, Edward," she said. I knew what she meant, he would find out and I was guessing he wouldn't like it.

"Can I ask you something," she said with a worried look.

"Hmm," I hummed. Right now she could ask me pretty much anything.

"I don't think he should see it in your mind," she started.

"What are you saying? You're gonna tell him to leave?"

"No, I'm gonna be the one to tell him the truth."

"Oh," I replied, "are you sure that's a good idea, right before the fight?"

"He's gonna find out sooner or later, and I think he'd rather hear it from me. So would you mind giving me some time with him for a tiny bit if he arrives, so that I can tell him?"

I sighed. After what we just shared, I didn't want to leave her alone, not for one second and definitely not with him.

"Please," she added, "imagine what he must feel like."

"Oh, I know very well what he must feel like. I used to be in his shoes, remember," I recalled.

"Yes, but you weren't a mind reader."

"Fair enough," I replied. She had a good point there.

Any other day, I would have said no. We didn't know what was going to happen at the fight and if this was our last day together, I wouldn't allow him near her. But after what we shared, and now she was looking at me with her pleading eyes, her temperature high with fever, I simply couldn't refuse.

I sighed again, "fine, I'll go down the river myself, but I'm pretty sure he'll read whatever there is to read the second he gets here."

"Then hum a song or something, that's what Alice does when she doesn't want him to read her."

I agreed, and so that is what we did.

As soon as Edward appeared at the tent, I started humming a song. I kissed her briefly, and crawled out of the tent.

"Where are you going?" he asked surprised, but I ignored him and ran into the forest, outside of his mind reading range.

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><p><em>AN: I'm so excited to find out what you think about this, please let me know? <em>


	22. Chapter 22 Tent

_AN: I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I'm in the middle of a real busy time at work. Don't worry, I'm not letting you down and I'm sticking with this story till the end :) Enjoy! _

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><p><strong>Chapter 22: Tent <strong>

Edward was inside the tent instantly, "Bella, what's wrong? Why is Jacob running off? Are you okay?"

Before I could answer, he sat beside me with his cold hand on my forehead.

I closed my eyes enjoying the coolness, and he continued, "you are burning up!"

I opened my eyes again, looking into his golden ones. Soon his worry would be replaced by pain. I wished there was a way I could have shielded him from this, but it was going to happen someday anyway, and I had no control over his gift.

"I need to tell you something, Edward."

I scooted over, and invited him to sit next to me.

He paused for a few seconds, staying completely still, and then asked, "is that the reason Jacob was singing? Because you wanted to be the one to tell me?"

I searched his eyes for traces of understanding, of pain, but they were blank.

I nodded and waited for him to respond.

After a few seconds, he simply said "tell me," without emotion.

I took a deep breath. "This isn't easy for me. I… um… we…" I sighed. I wish he would just know without me having to say it out loud. He simply said "go on," his eyes still on mine. I refused to look down, I would be brave. So I blurted out, "Jacob and I took our relationship to another level."

He remained still like a statue, and I waited, and waited. Until I could take no more.

"Please talk to me?" I was close to tears now, knowing that I had hurt someone I still cared about deeply. I wasn't going to apologize though, I didn't want to regret making love to Jacob. But I felt Edward's pain. If he had told me last year that he had lost his virginity to another girl, I would have been devastated as well.

"Do you mean… all the way?" he asked in a restrained voice.

I nodded, and he did as well. I could tell that he was trying to be understanding, but his pose was too tense, his face too smooth.

"When," he said, and it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Today." Now I did look down.

"Just now?" his eyes widened in shock and I was mortified to see him take a deep breath, smelling the air in the tent. He looked like some pieces of the puzzle finally fit when he recognized the scent.

"I didn't mean… we didn't plan to. And I wish I could have waited to tell you until after the whole fight, but you might have read it in his mind, and you asked me to tell you…"

"I'm glad you told me, but what were you thinking? You are ill! Does he have no…" he started and I saw the anger boil up inside him.

"No, no, it's not like that," I quickly interrupted. "I wanted to."

This might not help him, but I didn't want him to be mad at Jacob, who has been nothing but caring and nice to me.

"Of course you're going to be easy to persuade. Look at you, you're on painkillers and…"

"I'm the one who persuaded him. He told me we couldn't because I'm sick. But you know I can be stubborn when I want something."

He raised his eyebrows, but then calmed down and looked at me again. Now the anger was gone, I started to see the pain in his grimace.

"So…" he started, with his voice trembling, "you had … sex. With him. Right here."

"I'm so sorry for hurting you," I said, trying to hold back the tears that were pooling up in my eyes.

"Oh Bella," he said and his voice broke. He bent down his face, hiding it in his arms, and it hurt me so much to see my friend so lost, my former everything, who is always in control of his emotions. I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and I was glad he didn't shake me off.

We sat in silence for a while, until he spoke up, his voice more steady now. "I'm sorry, I am overreacting."

"Don't hide your feelings from me Edward, don't pretend it's nothing. I know how important this was to you."

He slowly nodded and looked up at me again through his lashes "I cannot hide anything from you, you look into my eyes and you know how I feel. And yes, I am devastated. Not surprised though. I knew this was about to happen. I think I deluded myself into thinking you were saving yourself for me, which is silly. Maybe I only now realize that I lost you…"

"You'll never lose me completely, you'll always be my first love and you'll always have a part of me."

He sighed with a sad smile. "You too, Bella. Don't worry about me, I will get over this. And I won't push you away for doing this. But for now, you have to understand that I will try to ignore what you just told me, just so that I can focus on what really matters here and that is keeping you safe."

"Are you still staying?" I was surprised that I was getting more sympathy from him than I deserved.

"Of course, I told you I will not break any more promises."

I was so relieved he was being so understanding and supportive, that I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly. He held me back, just as tight, not caring about how awful I must smell to him. Or maybe he was used to it by now.

When he released me, he put his hand on my forehead again, "this is not good," he muttered.

I replied, almost apologetically, "I know. I took a painkiller before I left, and it brought the fever down, but I can feel it's rising again. I can't do anything right, can I? Of all times, I have to be sick now."

"You are probably sick because you have been under too much stress, with the finals and then the whole army. Poor girl, I don't think I realized how much this weighed on you. What are we going to do now, we cannot take you to a doctor, the army is probably on its way."

"Jacob went to the river, to wet some towels."

"That's a good idea," Edward nodded, and I was relieved he didn't seem to hold a grudge against Jake, after finding out the news.

When Jake returned, Edward stepped outside the tent and they discussed something I didn't hear. I could have gotten up to join them, wanting to know how they acted around each other, but I was getting drowsy again and I lay down on the mattress. Jake stepped in and I hummed in relief when I felt the cold towel against my forehead. I drifted away slowly, and all I heard was a soft whisper from him "try to sleep".

When I opened my eyes again, it was dark outside. I was too sore to get up, and when I groaned, both were with me in an instant. If I hadn't felt like crap, it would have almost been funny. My eyes adjusted to the dark and I noticed the frown on both their faces.

"Where am I?" I groaned and I saw them exchange a worried look. Something was clearly wrong.

I wracked my brain, trying to remember more, and slowly some things came back to me. Me and Jacob, right here on this mattress. I watched his face as he spoke, and all I could think was how I wanted to kiss him.

"Bella?" Edward said. I shifted a bit and it took a few seconds before my view steadied. "Did you hear what he said?"

"Hmm?" I slurred, and then closed my eyes again. The effort it took me to try and remember things made me feel nauseous, so I stopped. I just listened to the sounds of their voices.

"She's still burning up," Jacob said. There was a strange tone in his voice, panic almost.

"I'll call Carlisle again," Edward said, and I heard the phone being flipped open.

"Carlisle," he spoke, "she seems to be getting worse… yes, she was awake just now, but not very alert… I don't know… we tried that, but so far no effect… I don't know, almost Jacob's temperature I think… okay, we'll keep trying. Thank you." The phone was shut and he informed Jacob. "We need to keep trying to get her temperature down, she's going into hyperthermia which is dangerous."

"How dangerous?" Jacob asked.

Edward didn't reply, but he must have given Jacob a look, because Jacob said, in an even higher voice, "I'm getting more towels!"

I heard him get up.

"Jacob…" Edward said.

"Yeah?"

"There's an easier way…"

"How so?" Jake sounded confused.

Edward continued in his patient voice "we need to cool her down and you have something right here that is ice cold."

"Urgh," Jacob said, and then after a pause, "fine."

I opened my eyes again, trying to understand what they were talking about. I saw Edward buttoning down his shirt.

"Is that necessary?" Jacob asked.

"Don't worry," Edward replied while he took the shirt off, "I know my place now. All I care about is her happiness and her safety. And I know she made a definite choice now. Try to trust her."

"I do, but she's ill, who knows where her mind is. And she's still Bella…"

I was aware that they were talking about me as if I wasn't there, but other than hearing the words, I couldn't make sense of what they were saying.

They were silent for an instant, and then Edward said "really, do you think so?"

Jacob nearly growled "get out of my head."

"I'm sorry," Edward muttered, and then he lifted the light blanket that was covering me, and lay down on the mattress next to me. I was too surprised to respond, but when he came closer and wrapped his cold arms around me, I understood, and I sighed relieved when my blazing skin was refreshed by his touch.

I needed more of that. He felt like a cool glass of water on a burning summer day and I drank his touch thirstily. My heated cheek rested against his chest and my legs tangled up in his.

I heard a groan coming from the other side of the tent, but right now, I needed this too much to worry. Slowly I dozed off again.

When I woke up again, I was still held tightly. I breathed in his scent and felt a strange kind of happiness, as if this was exactly where I belonged. He must have heard my heart speed up. He stayed motionless, except for his fingertips that brushed against the skin of my neck, underneath my hair.

"I'm not a mind reader, but I still notice things. You better behave," I heard Jacob mutter.

Edward replied, and I could almost hear the smile in his voice, "I'm not moving, I can't help the effect I have on her by simply being here."

"Urgh", Jacob grumbled, and I heard the tent rustle as he stepped outside.

Edward chuckled and whispered in my ear, "you are the one who should behave better, Bella, you are making this harder for me than it needs to be."

"I'm sorry," I murmured against his skin, but I didn't let go. I wondered if it was still the coolness I needed. Was I still burning, or did I just want him near me?

"Don't be sorry," he said softly, "this is something I have dreamed about for the longest time. Holding you when you sleep. Last year you always got cold so that I had to pull away eventually."

"I'm glad you got something out of my illness," I replied teasingly with a hoarse voice.

"If you don't like it, I will let you go, I don't want to impose myself, I was just trying to help."

"Don't be ridiculous," I said, "I was kidding."

He relaxed again and pulled me even closer to him, "I think you are getting better, so if you don't mind, I am going to hold you just a little longer before this moment is over."

I didn't mind. In fact, I would have minded if he had let go.

He was right, last year his cold temperature had always been slightly uncomfortable to my human skin, but now, laying here against him, head to toe, feeling his naked skin, was more than I got back then, and I loved it.

We laid still for a little bit and eventually he leaned back to look at my face. His eyes were so close to mine, the golden shine seemed to pierce right through my soul.

"What does it mean, Bella?" he whispered, and his breath on my skin made me shiver in a very good way.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"When you act the way you do," he sighed, "it's becoming extremely challenging to keep myself from enjoying this moment just the tiniest bit more."

Before I could ask what he meant, he moved closer to me still, and then his cool lips were on mine. There was a voice in the back of my head that told me to back away. To get up and try to clear my head because something was wrong, but I was nowhere near strong enough to figure it out. To understand why on earth I would ever want to back away from these wonderful lips, kissing mine.

And then suddenly the voice became clear, and I knew where it came from, when I heard a wolf's howl coming from outside the tent.

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><p><em>AN: I know most of you will hate Bella for hurting Jacob like this, but that's life. Nobody is perfect and neither is Bella. Everybody makes mistakes and faces difficult decisions sometimes. All your thoughts and feelings are welcome, even if I won't like them. <em>


	23. Chapter 23 Change

_AN: Thank you so much for your understanding reviews. And thanks for appreciating all the parallels and the reverse parallels with the original story. It made writing this story so much fun for me and I'm glad some of you notice these things and understand where I'm taking this story. _

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><p><strong>Chapter 23: Change<strong>

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><p>I waited in wolf form outside the tent when Bella crawled out. She stood still when she saw me and whispered "I'm sorry," but I didn't want to hear it. I saw her cheeks, flushed red, and I tried to convince myself that this was caused by the fever, but I knew better. Of course it was him. It'd always been him.<p>

A voice kept saying I should have seen this coming, but the worst part is that I _did_ see it coming and there was nothing I could have done to stop it.

"Please phase," she begged me.

I didn't plan on being human any time soon, wanted to escape in wolf form and leave all the mess behind, but the pleading look in her eyes made me give in. Again.

I never seem to be able to deny her anything.

I shifted back and pulled on my shorts. I didn't wait for her to start, I didn't want to hear any more apologies.

"You can go back inside, Bella. I get it. I think I always got it." My voice sounded strange to me, as if I was detached from myself.

"No, Jake, I don't want to, it's you I want."

I shook my head, not ready to believe her words. "Think about it Bella. If you're not over him by now, you're not meant to get over him. I'm done competing with fucking mister perfect."

I started quivering again, and I was glad Edward was wise enough to stay inside, because I would have attacked him for sure, even if it would upset Bella.

"Don't say that, Jacob," she pleaded again. She reminded me so much of the girl she was last year, when she was waiting for him to return and kept me hanging there, just so she wouldn't be alone. Didn't she see what she was doing to me?

I couldn't take this much longer, I was seconds away from breaking into a million pieces. When I spoke again, I used all the power I had in me to sound cold and collected.

"I mean it, go back inside, take whatever you want, it's all fine. And if you don't mind, I'm gonna go kill some bloodsuckers right now."

"No," she cried and her voice broke, but I didn't hear it anymore as I was already running through the forest towards the clearing.

As soon as I phased, I heard several worried voices in my head. Apparently my howl had alarmed the others.

"What happened," the new voices said, and Sam replied, "everybody stay calm." He didn't explain exactly what happened, but two of my memories popped up in his head: an image of Bella being all tangled up on the mattress with Edward, and then me outside the tent, listening to the sound of them kissing.

I heard the others gasp, and mutter insulting things about both Bella and Edward, but I didn't want to hear it. I also pushed away the thought that Leah would be pleased. I let Bella off the hook, I gave her back to her leech, so that I could keep her from being hurt in case I imprinted. Instead of focusing on these thoughts, I ordered Seth to run towards the tent to keep watch, and I kept running to the clearing, ready for some bad-ass fighting.

The others tried to keep their pity thoughts away, knowing that I was not in a mood to dwell on this.

During the run, Sam went over the tactics in his mind once more, making sure we didn't leave any holes in our defense. The other wolves seemed just as eager as I was to finally get to do what we were made for. I tried my hardest to keep Bella from my mind, and when I noticed that I was searching for Seth's mind to see through his eyes what she was doing, I shut him off too.

Until suddenly Sam said, "Jacob, why aren't you listening to Seth?"

"I don't want to know," I replied but the thought of Seth made me tune in on him.

"I don't know what to do," he said, "she's crying really hard, I'm afraid she'll end up doing something stupid, like going to the clearing."

"Stop her," my mind growled, "she'll get us all in danger."

"She knows that, he told her," Seth was careful not to mention the name, "but she won't listen. In fact, he's not even allowed inside the tent, she doesn't want him coming anywhere near her."

I was a little surprised. I expected her to cry in his arms about my departure and then being comforted by his lips again. Instead I saw through Seth's eyes how Edward was pacing in front of the tent, anxiety oozing off him. Suddenly Edward stopped and looked straight at Seth. "Tell him I'm sorry, I was wrong. Again."

He looked like he wanted to add more, but then he shook his head and started pacing again. Through Seth's ears I heard her sobbing in that tent, and my heart broke again. Not for myself this time, but for her. Her feelings were such a mess, and she did end up hurting me over and over again, but was it really all her fault? I had known how deep her love was for him, did I really expect her to forget about him just like that?

The answer was yes. Of course. Everybody wants to sweep their loved one off their feet, so that they forget they even had a life before they met you. It didn't happen, but she still chose me, right?

The fact was, I didn't even know any more if she still wanted me. For all I knew, she could be crying because she was going to break up with me, finding out the extent of her feelings for Edward.

"Go," Sam suddenly interrupted my thoughts.

"What?" I heard the others mutter again too. Apparently I had shut them off again.

"Go back to her. I know you want to and you're of no use to me, when you're like this. Talk to her and then come back. We have some time."

"Thanks," I murmured and ran back to the tent. I heard Seth warn Edward at which the vampire left into the forest.

When I reached the tent, I phased back and pulled on shorts before I bent down to crawl inside.

On the mattress I found Bella, rolled up like a ball, holding up her knees as if she was trying to keep herself together.

"Bella," I sighed. In an instant, she flung herself towards me, knocking me over on the floor and her arms were tight around my neck. Her nails almost dug into the skin of my back, as if she was trying to hold on to me with all her power.

"So… so… sorry," she sobbed incoherently, "I thought you were gonna get killed." At this she let out another wail, and I patted her back while I sat up again, the crying girl still on my lap.

"Bella, calm down, nobody is going to get killed."

"Please don't go back," she pleaded.

"I have to. And after the fight, I'll return to you."

She looked up at me, her eyes were red, and tears still streamed down her cheeks.

"To me?" she asked, "as my boyfriend?"

I waited for a second, did this mean she still wanted me? I wanted nothing more than to be her boyfriend, but then I remembered the sound of them kissing again.

I sighed, "I know how you feel about him, Bella, and I know you're sick and all..."

"No," she interrupted me, "I don't want to use any excuses. This is all my fault, I knew it was wrong and I allowed it."

I nodded. Her apology seemed sincere enough, but I needed her to fully understand.

"It wouldn't kill you to show some empathy now and then, Bella. Do you have any idea how vulnerable I felt after sharing that moment with you yesterday? And then you order me to leave when he arrives, only to be in his arms a few hours later, kissing him, on the exact same spot where we both lost our virginity. That fucking hurts."

"I know, it hurts me too. And you're right, I wasn't thinking about how you must feel. I'm so sorry."

"Please, stop apologizing; you're only upsetting me more."

"I'm..." she started but then stopped. Her sobbing had subsided and she was now staring at me with a hint of an emotion that I could only describe as hope. Is this how I looked at her all those times before?

Wishing for something I could not have.

"How do I know it won't happen again?" I asked carefully.

"I'll make sure it won't," she quickly replied, and her hope grew.

"How?"

She thought for a second, which I liked better than a quick response. I wanted her to think about this.

"I won't be as naïve," she said. "I know now that I've been fooling myself. I thought all my feelings had turned into friendship, and I guess I should have seen the signs," she explained, and I listened.

"There were plenty of signs, like my heartbeat, and the way I wanted him near, even though he wasn't my first choice. I thought it was all because he was a vampire and vampires are meant to dazzle humans. But that's not true. I don't feel the same with Jasper, or Alice. I've been fooling myself."

"And now… you realize you're in love?" I asked reluctantly.

"No," she said, and I felt relieved, "I'm definitely not in love. But it's not just friendship either. There is something left, of the feelings I once had."

She searched for words to clarify to me how she felt.

"You're the one I want, Jacob. When I wake up, you're the first on my mind, and when I daydream, it's always you. I swear, only you. When I fantasize about making love, or about a summer together, or a future even, it's you I see next to me. But when he's around me, I'm weak and I can't seem to take the right distance from him. And I know it's wrong."

I knew it was wrong as well, but when she told me all those wonderful things, I couldn't be upset anymore. She saw a future for us together, how can life get any better than that? I suddenly cared a little less about her weakness, as long as in the end, I had her.

"So it's just some sort of attraction, for him, you don't sometimes wish you had waited just a little longer for him? So that you would be with him now?"

"No of course not," she almost exclaimed, "oh Jacob, did you actually think that I would regret my choice? I could never do that. Every single day I realize how right you are for me. You are my sun. Who can ever compete with that?"

I smiled weakly at her, and her whole face lit up, just like that. I loved how my smile could do that. It always could. And maybe she was right, maybe it had always been me.

"Do you forgive me," she asked softly.

"I think so," I nodded, and I placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"We'll talk more about this later," I promised her, "but now I have a pack to join and a girl to save."

Her face fell again, and her fear brought her in agony.

I knew what she wanted to ask, but she didn't. She understood who I was, and what my duty was. She wouldn't ask me to change for her, and I wouldn't ask her to change. We both understood, and she said no more. She just kissed me hard on the lips, and then released her grip on me.

I backed out of the tent, and right before I phased, I heard her whisper "be safe, my wolf."

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><p><em>AN: I hope this puts your minds at ease.<br>I kept some parallels, but I also changed some bits. Like Bella not asking her lover to stay behind this time. I want their relationship to be more about mutual respect and understanding than about irrational feelings, even though they might still hurt each other. Please let me know what you think... _


	24. Chapter 24 Fight

**Chapter 24: Fight**

The waiting was pure agony. The whole tent was already packed, along with everything else. Edward hovered around me, but we carefully avoided the subject of what happened in the tent.

I sat down against a rock, my thoughts with Jacob and my friends. The fever had come down a great deal, so I had full conciousness to worry.

At first, Edward was in contact with Carlisle over the phone, but now the fighting had started and Carlisle was a little too busy to chat us up. Through Seth's mind, Edward was able to read the entire pack experience. Now and then he translated for me, but I could tell that he was editing, to keep me sane and calm. Usually, this would have annoyed me, but today, I was actually grateful for it.

So far, nobody was injured too badly, and if I may believe Edward, we were getting the upper hand over the army. What troubled us most was the fact that nobody had caught a glimpse of Victoria yet. I could tell that Edward was getting more anxious with each passing minute. Something was up, this was all going too easy. We had overlooked something.

Suddenly Edward spoke in a tone, almost too soft for me to hear, "Seth, hide right now and alarm the others." He crouched down in front of me. Seth was gone before I realized what was happening.

Two seconds later it became clear, when Victoria and a male vampire stepped out of the forest and marched towards us.

"Never a surprise attack with a mind reader," she sneered with a grin. She looked more amused than annoyed, which worried me. Seeing her again brought back horrible memories. The sight of the male vampire didn't help either. His eyes were bright red and he watched me thirstily. He stayed one step behind Victoria. It was clear that she had forbidden him to attack me. She wanted to be the one to finish me off.

"Where is your army Victoria?" Edward started. To me it was obvious that he was trying to buy time, before backup would arrive, but Victoria seemed eager to make conversation. She was so confident that she had us now, that she wasn't in a hurry to finish the job.

"You know where they are," she said, still with that amused glint in her eyes. "That was a nice trick you pulled there, with the fake trails and drops of blood. They were completely sidetracked. For me, that was perfect, too. I wouldn't want them near Bella anyway. She is mine."

When she said those words, her red eyes rested on me. A chill went through me, so powerful it almost knocked my legs from under me.

Victoria continued, "so if you thought you outsmarted me there, think again. They were only created to keep the rest of your little friends busy, and that worked brilliantly. My only worry would be that you kept your group all together, but I knew you wouldn't want your fragile little human to go anywhere near the fighting." She smirked. "And I was right, so thank you for being so predictable."

Edward stood motionless in front of me. I tried to focus on his statue-like form. If he was scared, he didn't show it. He continued to buy time.

"How did you find us?" he asked.

"Oh, your other diversion, let a wolf carry the girl," she laughed out loud throwing her head back. "You see," she added, "I have a thing for trackers, and this one right here," she pointed at the vampire behind her who was still staring at me, "Riley is a tracker too, just like James was. Remember James, Edward? My mate?" Her look shifted from amused to ice cold. The hate in her eyes was obvious, and I knew she wouldn't wait much longer before she lunged.

"You forgot something in your plan though," she continued. "We couldn't track _her_. But _you_ should have ridden a wolf here too. I knew you would be where she was. And your trail was easy enough to follow. Your eagerness to be her hero, to protect her, has led us straight to her."

Again she laughed with a hysteric sound.

"That is really smart," Edward complimented her.

"Enough talk! Now Riley!" she snapped. She made a movement too fast for me to see, and before I knew what was happening, the male vampire jumped on top of Edward. Luckily, it takes a little more to surprise a mind reader. Riley was thrown into the forest, and then Victoria attacked Edward. They each took turns, and even though Edward had his gift, I could tell that he wasn't fast enough to fight off two vampires at once, both strong from drinking human blood. Especially not someone who moved like Victoria did, swift like the wind.

Suddenly, Seth flew from the trees and joined the fight. I heard a loud howl coming from a fair distance. The wolves must know that Seth was at risk, and they weren't near yet.

I stood back and was horrified by the sight of the four monsters fighting. At this moment, monsters were exactly what they all were. The snarling and the movements at super speed were frightening, and I thought about running, but then figured I would always be safer where Edward could see me, and help was on its way.

Just when Seth was pinned down by Riley, a grey wolf jumped from the forest and attacked the vampire fiercely. I didn't recognize the wolf, but that didn't surprise me. The pack had grown since I last met the wolves. I wondered if Jacob was near now too, and prayed for him to be safe.

Seth recovered quickly, and soon enough both him and the grey wolf were getting the upper hand on Riley.

And then I heard a sickening sound, a screeching like metal being torn. I already knew what I would see when I slowly turned around, and sure enough, Riley dropped to the ground as soon as his head was removed from his body.

My stomach objected, but I kept watching the scene, to see Seth limp from under the vampire. I noticed a large cut on his side, blood was gushing out. I wanted to scream and rush to him, but my legs didn't move. Luckily, the injury wasn't as bad as it seemed, since Seth didn't pay much attention to it. As he joined the other wolf in tearing off vampire limbs, the bleeding had already stopped. I believed the grey one had saved his life.

I let out a loud gasp of air, and noticed that my legs were trembling. I didn't know whether to be sick with disgust or overcome with relief. My body was undecided as well. I averted my eyes away from where Riley was being shredded to pieces and looked at Edward. Right that moment, he took his eyes off Victoria to check on Seth.

Suddenly, the shredding stopped and there was silence. Edward looked shocked by what he saw and when I looked around again, I saw the grey wolf stare back at him. Both motionless.

They stood there, just looking at each other and I wondered what was going on. Was Edward shocked by something he read in the wolf's mind? Why wasn't he moving?

I saw Victoria crouch, and I screamed "Noooooo."

I wanted to jump forward, to throw myself at her. After all, it was me she wanted, but a reddish wolf suddenly appeared out of nowhere, to stand between me and the fight.

Our eyes locked and I heard my own voice echo in his mind. A voice in which I pleaded him to be safe. All he wanted was for me to be safe too, and I understood. I had caused him enough pain, I wouldn't try to be the hero and sacrifice myself. In this one second of eye contact, we both just knew that everything would be okay between us.

I relaxed against his soft fur, only to see the grey wolf throw itself between Edward and Victoria. I heard several bones snap and I averted my eyes. All I remember after that was throwing up and passing out.

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><p>When I opened my eyes again, it took me a few seconds to realize that I was no longer in the woods. I was laying on a soft mattress, in a room I didn't recognize. It had white walls decorated with three framed paintings that reminded me of the art in the Cullen mansion.<p>

"Don't worry," a calming voice said, and I knew it was Carlisle before he stepped into my vision.

"Where is…" I blurted out while I tried to sit up. I was smacked back on the bed by a massive headache.

"Careful, Bella," the doctor spoke, "you hit your head hard when you fainted."

I groaned, "I fainted?" I felt my cheeks redden in humiliation. I've always been annoyed with my own weaknesses, but at the same time I realized it could have been so much worse. At least Victoria didn't get to me, if this bump on my forehead is all that is keeping me in bed.

"Victoria?" I asked.

The door burst open and Jacob rushed to my side. "Bella! You're awake!"

I tried to smile, but he didn't notice as he kissed my face and lips.

"How long have I been out?" I chuckled at his enthusiastic behavior.

"Just a few hours, I guess I'm still worked up over our victory!" He nearly yelled that last word, and seeing his smile warmed me up inside. I noticed that my fever was gone completely.

"So Victoria is finished?"

"Yep, gone, shredded to pieces, we left nothing of her or her army."

"But someone got hurt," I said thoughtfully as the memories came back to me. "The wolf… the one who saved Seth and Edward, he got hurt, his bones…" I didn't finish and grimaced when I remembered the sound.

Jacob looked at me confused. "Who else was there?" he asked.

"The grey wolf," I explained.

"Oooh," he grinned, "that wasn't a he. The hero of the day is a she. That was Leah."

I blinked, but then some pieces fell into place.

I remembered her appearing. It would make sense that she arrived there first, when her kid brother was being attacked by two vampires. She probably didn't even wait for Sam's orders. And maybe that was why Edward was so shocked to see her, if he hadn't expected a girl wolf coming to the rescue.

"Is she alright?" I asked. She couldn't have been, after what I witnessed.

Jacob got this weird look on his face. "She'll be fine," he said. Then he added in a mysterious voice, "physically at least."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's say that fate has a strange sense of humor when it comes to Leah."

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><p><em>AN: A lot of stuff going on in this chapter. Now I am extremely curious to hear all your thoughts! Did you get what happened? What do you think about it? <em>


	25. Chapter 25 I love your smile

**Chapter 25: I love your smile**

I had never witnessed anything like this. Not in my human memory, or in the pack mind.

It only took two seconds, and then it was gone. Then Leah had flung herself towards Victoria and was knocked out. But two seconds was enough to understand what had happened, even if I had no experience in the area. Sure I had seen the results, in the minds of Quil, Jared and Sam. It was clear that their imprint was everything to them. The depth of the love and adoration was overwhelming, but it was nothing compared to the shock of that first sight.

I saw the fight she put up, I watched her save her little brother and finish off Riley. Meanwhile I was running as fast as I could. I kept my mind tuned in on Leah, searching for news about Bella. I needed to know that Bella was alright.

Leah turned towards the other fight and locked eyes with Edward. That split second, everything changed. I have never experienced love at first sight. With Bella, my friendship for her grew and from there on I fell in love with her. But what Leah felt went even beyond that. I saw Edward through her eyes, and he looked more than dazzling.

I remember being so disgusted by him and everything about him in the past, even just yesterday I would have been ready to kill him for kissing my girl in that tent. But what I saw in Leah's mind was nothing like this. He looked glorious to her. And it wasn't even about his looks. In his eyes she saw the reflections of everything that made him beautiful, the way he cared about others, the devotion he felt for his family, the pureness of his mind...

And she loved all of that instantly.

A split second later, there was a movement behind him. A blur, red like flames, jumped at Edward. He remained frozen, staring at Leah. I don't know if he felt the same way, or if he was shocked by what he read in her mind. Either way, he never saw Victoria coming.

Without hesitation, Leah threw herself in front of him. And me, after seeing what I saw in her eyes, I would have done the same.

By that point I had reached Bella and I kept her from running forward as well. Silently I begged her to keep safe, and even without the wolf mind, she understood immediately and she agreed. Leah was smashed down, injured badly. But she had stopped Victoria just long enough for the other wolves to arrive. We all took her down and burned her remains, along with the pieces that were left from Riley.

So this is what it felt like to imprint.

I didn't know whether to feel sorry for her or be happy for her. But knowing Leah, she'd probably hate it all the way. She was always against to the whole idea of imprint; we both actually were. To how it messes with your free will and makes you lose yourself.

She was already very much upset with the whole tribe, for passing on the genes that made her a wolf. The first female wolf in our entire history. She didn't have a choice. Fate had thrown her some wicked curveball.

And now this. Of all the people on earth, she imprinted on a vampire.

The legends hadn't prepared us for this. Both wolves and vampires were at a loss for explanations, since imprints were thought to secure the genetic line. All we could come up with was a theory about the imprint securing the treaty that may be of importance for the tribe.

Which ever happened next, the treaty definitely had a new meaning. Now Victoria was dead and her army was eliminated, we could have gone back to hating the Cullens, each staying on our own property. But one of the pack rules is that an imprint can never ever be harmed, no matter what, so the Cullens are free to do as they please. At least Edward is.

Leah hadn't talked to anyone since she woke up, not even Seth. Carlisle assured us that she was under heavy pain medication, so that she wouldn't remember anyway.

I was a little reluctant to tell Bella about the imprint, knowing how she still felt about Edward. I had hoped that he would step up, but he hadn't been around her house all week. I did appreciate the distance he took after their kiss. But it meant that I was going to have to bring her the news.

I had no idea how she would respond. She never spoke of him since the whole fight, but I knew he must be on her mind. She had just recently discovered that her feelings for him were more than the friendship she wanted to feel. And no matter how crazy jealous this idea made me, I understood that he had to be on her mind.

I didn't want to dwell on her possible reaction, or find the right timing to tell her what I knew. The longer I waited, the more upset she would be, for being kept out of a secret. So as soon as she walked through the door, I controlled my urge to pick her up and carry her to my room, to take off that sexy summer outfit she was wearing and repeat what we did in the tent. This time with a healthy girl. Instead, I kissed her softly, and then pulled back.

She leaned into me when my lips touched hers, eager for one more confirmation that we were alright. That I was still her wolf and she was still my girl. She hasn't been pushy or hasn't taken any initiative to make out with me, if I don't count that outfit, but I could tell that she responded to my every touch. She showed me guilt, relief and love with every look and was hungry for my affection, more than she's ever been. Even though a part of me wanted her to feel that guilt, I also started to feel sorry for her when it dawned on me that I would forgive her much sooner for her mistake in that tent than she would.

When I pulled back from the kiss, the face fell a tiny bit. Her anxiousness took over when I said, "there's something I need to tell you."

"Sure," she said, trying to sound casual, and sat down on the couch. I sat down next to her and quickly continued, not wanting to distress her any more than necessary.

"Do you remember the fight, the moment that I stopped you, right before Victoria was killed?"

"I don't remember Victoria being killed, I do remember our moment," she said, not sure where I was going with this. I moved a little closer to her, hoping to ease her mind.

"Right before that, when Edward suddenly stood still."

She nodded, more confused than anything.

"Why do you think that was?" I ask.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him since, but I think he was surprised to see Leah get there first joining the fight?" It was clear that she felt uneasy to talk about Edward, and so did I.

I replied. "He knew before she got there, he can read the pack's mind."

"Oh," she said, and then shrugged. This had been her only explanation. I had no idea what she was thinking or feeling, I just wanted to get this over with.

"Do you remember what I told you about imprinting, about gravity shifting?"

"Yeah, you told me about Sam, and Jared…"

She thought for a bit and I let her mind do the work. Suddenly her face started to fall, and I think she understood something.

She looked at me with wide eyes, "did Leah show him something? Did you… imprint?"

"No no," I quickly interrupted, happy that it was me she was afraid for, "_she_ did."

"She did what?"

"She imprinted."

"Oh, that's great, right? So she doesn't have to suffer over Sam anymore."

She smiled, and I still didn't think she got the whole picture.

"Bella," I said patiently, "she imprinted on Edward."

"What?" she looked confused, "how is that possible?"

"I don't know. Apparently Leah is exceptional, in more than one way. But it's true, I saw it through her eyes, it's very real. There's no escaping it."

"So are they together now?" If she was jealous or hurt by this idea, she didn't show it.

"No, Leah is still recovering from her injuries. And she hasn't spoken to anybody. We haven't seen any of the Cullens, apart for Carlisle, and he didn't know what to say about the matter either."

"But they're in love? That's what the imprint does, right?"

"I don't know. Strictly, it doesn't have to be love. The imprint makes sure that the wolf is everything the imprint needs at that moment, whether it's a friend, or a lover, or something else."

She was silent for a while, and then said "I don't see how that is going to work. I don't know much about Leah, but from what you told me, she couldn't be more wrong for Edward."

"People change," I said simply, "and if she doesn't, then I don't envy him."

She chuckled, "he's patient enough, and if she'll turn into whatever he needs, then how bad can it be really? This is supposed to make them happy, right? All the imprinted wolves and girls in your pack are happy?"

"Yes they are. And I think it's supposed to make them happy, yes."

"Then that's good," she said determined, "I hope it works out for them."

She smiled and it looked completely sincere. I searched her eyes for something.

"Aren't you… like jealous?"

She smiled even wider and shook her head, "as long as _you_ don't imprint, the rest of the world can turn completely upside down for all I care."

I pulled her onto my lap and kissed her. Her eagerness was back instantly as she pressed her body against mine.

I was so relieved with this response and I was starting to believe that this imprint indeed might be a good thing. In the long run maybe.

"Tell me again why that is," I murmured against her neck, letting my breath flow over her warm skin. She let out the most sexy gasp ever, which made me smile with anticipation for what was to follow and her reply made my heart leap.

"Because you are my Jacob, my sun, and you're all I want."

"I love you, Bells."

"I love you too, Jake…"

~~ The End ~~

* * *

><p><strong>I love your smile - Shanice<strong> (_AN: this is my personal happy song and since I always end my stories with a song I picked this one, I feel like it fits the chapter_)

Time came and showed me your direction  
>Now I know I'll never ever go back<br>Taught me that  
>I can be a better girl with love you give<br>You rock my world

'Cause I love your smile 

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><p><em>AN: I hope you enjoyed the story and thought it was All sorts of Beautiful. Is this an ending you can find peace with? Would you like to read more? How about a sequel about the imprint between Edward and Leah? Please let me know, I can't wait to read what you all think... <em>


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